Painting A Cat (Earwig Version)

Years ago I lived in a big old house on the outskirts of downtown Montgomery with two magnificent artists and an eccentric and delightful landlady. We were all pretty much the same age, so calling her a “landlady” seems a little misleading…let’s just say she owned the house, then. I’ve fallen, sadly and completely, out of touch with her and one of the artists, but the other one I still consider one of my best friends, even though we haven’t spoken in a few months. Friendship is a funny thing like that.
I wish I could remember and describe all of the house-owner’s wonderful eccentricities, but you know how those times can be, fueled as they are by thrills of the moment and then stowed away in dusty closets of memory. A few things I do remember: she would sleep for days at a time and then signal her awakening accidentally at four in an unexpected morning with the crash of something metallic in the kitchen…and then she’d be awake for several days before finally resting again for several more. (more…)