posted on May 17, 2005 12:34:30 PM new
So I’m having a slow week in the office and therefore have some time to kill. The recent cat threads got me to thinking about one particular cat that entered my life for a brief period of time and since I have nothing to do for the next few hours, I thought I would write about it here. WARNING – this will likely be long (very long as it turns out) because, hey, I don’t have anywhere to be for the next little while and I like to write when I'm bored. Anyway, the following is a true story:
First some history. I’ve owned several cats in my life and the first was given to me when I was in second grade. A neighbors cat had kittens and because I used to help the neighbor with yard work and the like, I was told I could pick a kitten to have as a pet. After clearing it with my parents, I chose a little orange and white beauty and proceeded to name him <ahem> Tuffy. Yeah yeah, I know, but what do you expect from a second grader! Tuffy was a great cat and he used to sleep in my bed and follow me around, etc. He was my first pet and I loved him very much. A year or so later he was hit by a car right in front of our house and I experienced my first real trauma as I was the one to discover him. He wasn’t run over (the car must have barely hit him so there was no blood or gore or anything like that) and it looked like he was just sleeping on the side of the road.
“Tuffy, what are you doing? That’s no place to sleep!” I hollered when I saw him. Once I got closer and he hadn’t moved, I knew something was wrong. But I still didn’t process what I was seeing. It was then I noticed a small dog belonging to another neighbor also lying on the side of the road about 15 feet down from Tuffy. I then saw black skid marks and that’s when it hit me like a stiff slap in the face on a cold morning. These two animals were dead. In my first (and perhaps only) moment of absolute panic, I ran screaming down the street, not sure where I was going or what I was planning to do. Of course, several neighbors saw me and came running after me and once I told them what had happened we all returned to the scene of the crime. Cheryl was a neighbor girl about my age and a friend and I’ll never forget the look on her face when she came out and saw her dog, lying so still and close to my cat, lying equally still. We were both devastated and while we sat there trying to comprehend the fact that our pets were dead, the adult men were looking at the tire marks and vowing to “get the guy who did this.” It sounds very melodramatic, I know, but its difficult to accurately describe just how hard a thing it was to discover my cat was dead. To this day (I’m now 38), that memory is as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.
My parents wanted to get me another cat after Tuffy was killed but I never really got over his death and always declined. The next cats I had didn’t enter my life until I was 23 and married to my now ex-wife. One of those cats ran off one day and the other had to be put down after a long battle with a kidney disease.
Which brings me to Jazz. Jazz was maybe the most beautiful (in terms of markings and color) cat I ever saw. She was tiger striped and had a way of looking at you that, well, I’ll try to explain. I met Jazz while I was living alone in a Condo in Southern California. I had just recently gone through a divorce and found this little one bedroom place which was perfect for me. I’m an emotional guy and even though the divorce was the absolute right thing for me, I was spending a lot of time in that condo brooding and feeling sorry for myself. I hadn’t really gotten to know any of the neighbors and at that point in my life, I really wasn’t looking for anyone to talk to. I just wanted to be left alone, ya know?
So one warm summer evening I heard something at my front door. It sounded like scratching. I blew it off and went on about my business of staring at the walls with a whole symphony of “Woe Is Me” playing in my head. I heard the scratching again and decided to get up and see what it was. I looked through the peep hole in the door but saw nothing. Chalking the sound up to the wind or something I turned to resume my place on the couch when I heard it again. Scratch scratch scratch. So I opened the door and there was this cat, just sitting there looking at me. I was momentarily stunned as I don’t usually get a lot of cats knocking on my door. But then I said “hi kitty” and slowly knelt down extending the back of my hand for her to smell. She immediately stood up, rubbed against my hand and walked past me into my condo.
“Well, that’s a little forward you, don’t you think?” I asked as she kept on walking towards my living room. She paid no attention to me and strutted up to my couch, jumped up and sat down right on the spot I had been sitting on before answering the door. Even in my dark mood, I couldn’t help but smile as I said, “Comfortable?” She said nothing but looked at me in such a way that even now I find difficult to verbalize. It was like she had known me or something and it was absolutely acceptable for her to be sitting there. Like it was her house, her couch and she was happy to be home. I have to admit, there was something about that look that actually gave me a chill for a moment. But it passed and being the cat person that I’ve been, I certainly didn’t mind the company, so I sat down and petted her. I noticed she had a collar with a tag announcing her name and address. “Hello Jazz,” I said, reading the tag, “what can I do for you?” She purred and said nothing and just sat there with me that evening. At some point, I got up from the couch and opened a sliding glass door just a crack so she could leave when she wanted. I ended up falling asleep on the couch that night and when I woke, she was gone, leaving me to contemplate whether I had dreamed the whole thing.
Several days passed and I had forgotten about my new feline friend. I was again sitting on my couch in the evening after what had been a miserable day. Because of the divorce and all the fun that comes with one, I had not been concentrating on my work and thus was falling behind on some projects. I don’t like falling behind on work projects but the frustrating thing was not being able to pull myself out of the funk of self-pity even though I knew I had work to do. I don’t want to say I was “helpless” because that isn’t accurate. I knew what I had to do but I just chose not to do it. Anyway, short story long, this particular night I was brooding over the fact that I was brooding and if I wasn’t careful, I’d soon be brooding about not having a job to brood about!
And in the middle of that little moody storm I heard….scratch scratch scratch. So I opened the door and in walked Jazz, just as before. Up on the couch she jumped, just as before and looking at me with that look, just as before. So I sat down next to her and said, “Ya know? Thanks for coming girl.”
And with that, my mood became less dark.
That night I cracked open the glass door and from that day until the day she was taken away, I left the door open so she could come and go as she pleased.
Over the next three or four months Jazz came and went, sometimes sleeping on my pillow above my head, sometimes disappearing for days. But there is no doubt that for a few weeks during one of the darker periods of my adult life, that cat proved to be a good companion and good distraction.
At some point, I had purchased some cat food and always had a bowl out in the kitchen which led to one of the most comical nights of my life. I was awoken at about 2:30 a.m. one evening to the sound of rustling on my bed. I remember thinking that it was just Jazz but then I noticed that Jazz was asleep on the pillow above my head. So I sat up in a shot - you know what I mean - like when you oversleep your alarm and it finally hits you - that sort of immediate leap from groggy, half-asleep to wide awake saying “oh schit!” Well, that’s how I sat up because there was something moving around at the foot of my bed and it sure as hell wasn’t Jazz!
I flipped the light on and there at the foot of my bed was…….another cat! A fat grey furry cat just sitting there looking at me like “hey man, how bout you turn off that light, I’m trying to sleep here!” So I said, “who the f--- are you?” And that’s when I heard something from the kitchen. “What is going on here?” I said to myself as I swung out of bed and walked to the kitchen. And what was in the kitchen you ask? (Oh yeah, like you don’t already know) yes yes, two more cats, just putting the finishing touches on what had been a full bowl of Whiskas cat food. So I had gone to bed that evening and Jazz decided to bring some friends over for some eats and then to crash. I stood there in the kitchen, now with all four cats at my feet, meowing for some more food and just cracked up. I don’t know why it struck me as funny as it did but I laughed about that ridiculous scene. Oh, my friends were going to have a field day with this one. So after feeding the cats (yeah, I know, feeding them was only going to encourage them to come back but so what, they were hungry) I sent them on their way. Of course, Jazz stayed behind and re-took her place on the top of my pillow.
The story surrounding her being taken away is interesting (at least to me) but I won’t write it here as this is going on too long as it is. Perhaps I’ll write it later, perhaps not. The real point I want to get across is – whether you believe it or not – that cat and I had some kind of connection. It was just too uncanny how she would show up when I most needed something but was least motivated to do anything about it. In other words, I really needed to break out of those dark and encompassing moods but opted not to call friends or family. Instead I just sat there and as strange as it may sound, that little cat contributed to distracting me from those dark places. In hindsight, it was almost like she knew exactly when to come. I have a few spiritual friends who have their own ideas about that cat but I don’t know if I can go that far. What I do know is that cat came to my door one night when I needed a friend but was too thick-headed to reach out to my existing friends. For that she holds a special place in my memory of all animals that I’ve come in contact with, right along side Tuffy.
posted on May 17, 2005 01:35:15 PM new
That was an absolutely beautiful and heart touching story, fiset.
[And, I envy your ability to write so well too.]
I'm glad this special cat was there when you needed to 'move on' with your life. And that Jazz helped to improve your mood. I've read so many articles that say that's why they've found taking animals to 'old folks' homes, retirement homes, convalescent homes helps their mental health and improves their physical health too.
Wonderful story. I'll be looking forward to the day when you tell us how and why Jazz was taken from you.
posted on May 17, 2005 04:52:01 PM new
Glad you enjoyed the story, Linda, thanks for the kind words. Tomorow promises to be another slow work day so I'll finish up the story then.
posted on May 17, 2005 06:39:58 PM new
I love cats.......they taste just like chicken
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on May 18, 2005 12:53:59 PM new
A Cat Story – The Conclusion. (Again - very long)
Back to finish up the tale of Jazz the Cat. So lets see, when we last left our hero, he was allowing this strange cat to enter and leave his condo in California at will. Said hero was in the middle of one of the darker emotional periods of his young life and said cat picked that time to befriend him. And now…..the season finale of The Cat Story (brought to you in high definition without commercial interruption….):
I previously mentioned that Jazz had a collar with a tag indicating her name and address. It happened that Jazz’s real home was several condo’s down from mine. About a month after Jazz started hanging out at my place, one evening while sitting outside on my porch smoking a cigarette and enjoying a typical Southern California sunset, I saw a young woman about my age walk out of the condo where Jazz lived. I got up and walked over to her and introduced myself. After exchanging hellos (her name was Lisa) I let her know what was going on with her cat.
“You have a cat named Jazz, right?” I asked.
“I sure do, how’d you know?” Lisa responded. So I went on to explain the events that had transpired up to that point, making sure to point out that I wasn’t trying to keep her cat but that it was cool with me if Jazz hung out in my condo.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how Lisa was going to react to this . I mean it was a little strange that her cat was choosing to hang out at my place and I had no idea whether Lisa was going to be upset. However, I thought it was important for her to know where her cat was in the event she had been worried. Turns out Lisa couldn’t have cared less.
“Oh, I never know where that cat is half the time,” she said with a dismissive little wave of her hand, “as long as she isn’t bothering you, it doesn’t bother me.”
I told Lisa that Jazz was no bother and with that we said good night. Feeling like I had done the right thing by informing her owner of her possible whereabouts, I figured everything was cool. I figured wrong.
For the next several months there was no change in terms of Jazz. She came and went at her leisure and brought friends over once as I detailed in Part One. I would occasionally see Lisa and we would exchange pleasantries with her asking if Jazz was bothering me or scratching up my stuff or whatever. Just small talk. I told her about the night Jazz’s friends paid a surprise visit and she cracked up. All in all I figured Lisa to be a nice girl and our relationship (such that it was) was friendly and casual. I like to think I’m a fairly good judge of people and it doesn’t take me long to size up someone, at least in general terms. I had no impression that Lisa was in any way upset that Jazz occasionally hung out in my place. If I had gotten even an inkling of that I would not have allowed Jazz to come and go. I also don’t want to give the impression that Jazz lived in my place full time. I was gone everyday for at least 10 hours and was not home some evenings until very late. I would go days without seeing Jazz and there were times when she would show up for about an hour or so before taking off again into the night. So the night I heard knocking on my door and spied Lisa through the peephole, I had no reason to expect what was about to happen.
I opened the door and said, “Hey Lisa, whats up?” The first thing I noticed while I was saying hello was that she was not smiling. In fact, she looked decidedly unhappy. Any man who’s been in a relationship with a woman knows this look (I suppose the same would be true for women but since I’m not a woman, I won’t speak for them). That look where you just know you’re in trouble. You have no earthly idea what you might have done but your brain instinctively starts replaying recent events at warp speed in an effort to give you some preparation for what you’re about to get hit with. But I came up with nothing in the two seconds between my hello and her saying with real venom, “hey, I’m just wondering, are you ever planning to give me my cat back?”
Don’t you just love unexpected little treasures like that? I mean, there you are, minding your own business reading a book when someone walks up to you and before you know what happened, they hit you in the face with a brick. Okay, maybe its not quite that bad but you get my drift. There are some questions posed to you that you just in no way saw coming and therefore have no immediate reply to. “Are you ever planning to give me my cat back?” was one such question.
So I responded with the universal reply to any question one is asked that they don’t know how to answer:
“What?”
She went on, “I’m just wondering when I can have my cat back. You’ve had her long enough, don’t you think? She is my cat after all, not yours.”
“I’m sorry, but just what kind of psycho are you and what have you done with that nice Lisa girl?” except it came out like, “is everything okay?”
I went on to explain that Jazz wasn’t even in my condo that night and I hadn’t seen her for several days. Without giving my any further explaination, Lisa left my porch and said over her shoulder, “thanks for taking good care of her all those nights I just left her outside” only it came out like “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop letting her in your house.”
I never found out exactly what caused Lisa to have such a radical change in both her opinion about Jazz staying at my place and her demeanor towards me but I honored her request and closed my sliding glass door. Jazz was, after all, Lisa’s cat and even though her request was delivered with animosity, I had no right to refuse it. However, that didn’t change the fact that it saddened me to close the door that night. I pictured Jazz trying to get in and wondered what she would think if she saw me inside, not letting her in. Yeah I know, cats don’t think like that. Or do they? All I can say is that Jazz seemed like something more than a cat to me and I could probably be excused for attributing feelings to her that one normally would not associate with a cat.
In the end, Lisa apparently found Jazz because some time later (maybe a day, maybe more, I can’t remember) I saw Jazz sitting in the window sill inside Lisa’s condo. She was just sitting there, looking outside and I’m quite certain wishing she was outside. A month or so later, Lisa moved and both she and Jazz were gone.
I’ve speculated about Lisa’s sudden change in behavior but the truth is I will never know for sure what happened. What I do know is that for a brief period of time her cat became my friend and as absolutely corny as this sounds, I was happy to know that cat. But I still wonder what happened at the end and wish that it had ended differently. But then again, there are worse ways to end a relationship with an animal.
posted on May 18, 2005 03:50:26 PM newThere are some questions posed to you that you just in no way saw coming and therefore have no immediate reply to.
How sad, fiset!! I think that cat belonged to you, and she knew it.
You are a very good writer. Do you write for a living?? Of course, I wanted to read a hollywood happy ending,, you know....you lisa and the cat happily ever after....
posted on May 18, 2005 06:50:15 PM new
And...as Paul Harvey says...that's 'the rest of the story.
Thank you fiset. Again so well written I feel like I was in your shoes while this was happening.
From what you've said, I'd say that Jazz may have been gone a little too long for Lisa's comfort and she was worried about him. Then, knowing you'd mentioned you let him in on occassion, was thinking maybe he'd be at your place.
I think she might have been embarassed to just say outright to you...
'I'm worried about where Jazz is...do you know?'...she may have been a defensive type person. Might have been afraid if she admitted to you she was worried...you just might put the blame on her. Not that you would have...but it's possible she may have been concerned you would have. So..rather just share her concerns openly, she went into defensive mode right off the bat.
Hope someday you find another cat that brings the enjoyment you experienced from Jazz into your life once again.
posted on May 18, 2005 07:48:38 PM new
Fiset you spin quite a yarn, kudos to your writing skills, I do hope you do that for a living, I believe you certainly could make a good story teller, as others here have commented on also.
posted on May 18, 2005 08:02:42 PM new
I'm glad a few of you enjoyed the story. dbl, I'm not a professional writer (yet) but I am working on a novel. I just like writing, I always have. As for not having a happy ending where I ended up with the cat and the girl, here's a link to a post I wrote here several years ago with a much happier ending:
The story in that link is another of my long-winded posts but its my favorite story (although I think I could have written it better today). I very much enjoy this type of writing - sort of informal, off-the-cuff writing done with no real planning or editing. It tends to be a little raw in spots but its honest.
Linda - I gave quite a bit of thought to Lisa's possible motives for coming to my door that night and you may be right in your analysis. For me though, why she did what she did is not what I think much about anymore. In the end, whatever her reasons were, I'm sure they made sense to her. I think when someone snaps at you for little or no apparent reason (remember, she knew up-front that Jazz was hanging in my place and we talked about it more than once so it wasn't like she just suddenly realized it) it probably has more to do with that person misplacing some anomosity. But then, what do I know?
posted on May 19, 2005 12:07:40 AM new
fiset - What a romantic you are. What a love story that was - brought back to mind that old song, 'When A Man Loves A Woman'. Few men have the ability to express the love they feel for that special woman in their life, but you sure did in that post.
I'm sure you realize just how blessed you have been and still are to have found her. That type of love, imo, comes across once in a lifetime. Treasure it everyday of your life.
---
It was weird to see all those old poster userids from the past as I read the whole thread. Some of their responses were so funny....but yours was the 'creme of the crop'.
posted on May 19, 2005 05:53:50 AM new
Linda, I most certainly realize how blessed I am to have found the love and happiness I found with kidsnurse. The post-script to that story is that we are now living in New York so we ended up full circle.
I am also struck by all the old userid's whenever I look at that post. Of course, that was back in the days before you needed a credit card to post here but still, the RT has changed quite a bit over the years.
posted on May 19, 2005 06:43:38 AM new
Helen - I can always benefit from another perspective although I'm not quite sure how being a romantic ties in. But thats okay because as I've previously said.....<wait for it>......what do I know? <rim shot>
posted on May 19, 2005 06:47:20 AM new
fiset-I read that story you posted in 2001-on how you met your wife-quite a story
I also live in N.Y.I used to live in Westchester co-and now live upstate near Poughkeepsie. I used to go to MSG to see the Rangers play as I also love hockey.However we used to go to the Meadowlands to see the Devils when the Rangers were playing there as it got harder and harder to get tickets to MSG.I also played hockey in highschool.When I moved to Dutchess co in 1971 I played in a league at the Civic Center in Poughkeepsie.I started out playing center,and as I got older I switched to left wing.When I got REAL old I played left defense-until at the age of 45 some guy clubbed me from behind into the boards and I dislocated my shoulder.I was out of work for 6 weeks.When I was ready to go back to work,my wife took out my hockey stick from my hockey bag,and said "you dont do this for a living-you were out of work for 6 weeks because of this" "NOW am I going to burn this or are you????....ya know if I didnt know my wife any better, I think she was trying to tell me something.
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
[ edited by classicrock000 on May 19, 2005 06:51 AM ]
posted on May 19, 2005 07:20:36 AM new
Classic - you live near Poughkeepsie, eh? So do we. We live in New Windsor, right next to Newburgh. I commute into Manhattan everyday but its nice to come home to some space, ya know?
Nice to meet a fellow hockey fan. This year has been hard on our household. We always make it to several games a year (at MSG and the Meadowlands), although my wife being the die-hard Devil fan she is, can't stand the Rangers. Still, games at the Garden are fun and it really bites that the season was canceled. Especially this time of year when we should be watching playoff hockey. Oh well, hopefully next year.
As for your hockey playing days, very cool. I used to play roller hockey in an adult league in Southern California and I stopped playing for almost the same reason as you. I wasn't seriously injured or anything but had a few close calls. Its funny because I remember saying almost the exact same thing as your wife when I stopped playing. "I don't so this for a living and this league isn't going to cover my wages if/when I get hurt."
posted on May 19, 2005 07:27:48 AM new "NOW am I going to burn this or are you????....ya know if I didnt know my wife any better, I think she was trying to tell me something."
LOL! Classic.
There are better ways to deliver that message with a hocky stick. Fires are so messy and why threaten the environment.
posted on May 19, 2005 09:18:05 AM new
fiset-I didnt realize you were here in the east-I must have mis-read your post of 2001.
I thought your wife came out to Calif to live you with out there.I live in a place called Hopewell Jct.We are 5 minutes away from the intersection of I-84 and the Taconic St Parkway. Anyway I know New Windsor very well-back in the 70's and 80's I used to belong to the USCF(United States Chess Federation)its headquarters is located on 9w in New Windsor. I used to go there to either pick up chess mags or other goodies.Since the development of computer chess games and playing on the internet,I havent been there in quite sometime,so I dont know if its still there or not. We also go down that way to go to either Bear Mt or West Point.
Helen-I know what your saying-my wifes a democrat and shes threatening to stink up the enviroment-go figure heh?
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
[ edited by classicrock000 on May 19, 2005 09:21 AM ]
posted on May 19, 2005 09:38:36 AM new
Classic - nah, you didn't miss anything from my 2001 story. At that time we were living happily in Southern California. We moved to New York in the Spring of 2003 in part because we wanted to be able to live without her income so she could be a stay-at-home mom. Southern California is just too expensive so we moved to New Windsor. We now have a mortgage payment that is about half what it was in California and I work in Manhattan with a significantly higher salary. Nice combination.
As for the Chess Federation - They just recently moved to another location in New Windsor but the old location is walking distance from my house. I'm also a big chess player and used to be a USCF member until I let my membership expire a few years ago. Ever since we had the twins, I've had less time to devote to chess but have been contemplating re-newing my membership.
posted on May 20, 2005 03:41:32 AM new
fiset-does your wife come this area originally?
I would have opted to stay in S.Cal because I love the warm weather and since I gave up Hockey and skiing I have no use for the winter.
However money does talk!
I use to play in chess tournaments,but most of them are on the weekends.Where I worked it was rotating shifts and rotating days off.I only got weekends off every 6 months,so I could never play that much anyway.If you go to yahoo.com you can play other people live there in their games section.You are also rated after every game just like the USCF.They also have different sections you can play in,so you can play other people around your rating.
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on May 20, 2005 05:53:44 AM new
Classic - yes, my wife grew up in Newburgh and most of her family still lives in the area. We both would rather be in Southern California and I suspect we'll be going back within five years or so. As much as I like New York I'll always be a California guy but for now, this is the right place for us to be.
I play chess occasionally on Yahoo. I've only played 50 rated games - 36 wins, 12 losses, 2 draws and a rating of 1356. I used to play on the Go Network which has now become pogo.com but when they switched from Go to pogo, I lost all my stats. I probably had close to a thousand games played. But as much as I like playing on the internet, there's nothing like playing over the board, ya know? SInce you've played in tournaments, I suspect you are a strong player. Any favorite openings?
posted on May 20, 2005 11:25:57 AM new
I didnt play in that many tournaments because of my days off.One time I met an International Granmaster in a hotel elevator back in the mid-70's.His name was Robert Brown or Bobby Brown-I cant remember which.I dont know if he even still plays.The biggest tournament I ever played in was down in Atlantic City in August 1972.Thats when Bobby Fischer was Playing Boris Spasky in Iceland.It was for the chess championship of the U.S.There was close to 500 people there.However when you signed up you had to pick what class or range you wanted to play in.I wasnt all that good,so I chose the 1300-1400 range.It was a two week affair and you played one game each night.Since I was on vacation I stayed at the hotel.After 6 games I had won 4 lost 2.My fiance',who is now my wife called me and said her dad had died,so I had to leave the tournament.Favorite opening? I used to know alot of them,and some were named after famous players.Since I havent played in tournaments in quite some time I have forgotten most of them.I remember the "2 knights opening" and once in awhile if I get hairy I will "fianchetto"(sp?)my bishop to confuse the opponnet.I usually like playing black,but if I do play white,I always open p-k4,then come out with a knight and bishop to try and control the center.
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on May 20, 2005 12:14:37 PM new
Robert Byrne is a grandmaster who write the Chess column in the NY Times. I wonder if that was who you met. If so, thats cool, although Bobby Brown would have been interesting!
Its cool that you were playing in a tournament during the Fischer/Spassky match. I've read a couple of books on Fischer and that sure was an exciting time for chess.
posted on May 20, 2005 12:57:52 PM new
no it was Bobby Brown-it was at a tournament in New Haven,Ct.However now that you mention it,I did meet Robert Byrne,which I forgot to tell you about.When my wife and I were dating we went to a tournament in Hershey,Pa in Feb of 1972.It was just a weekend tournament and he was the guest speaker there.We drove out in a bad snow storm-took us about 6 hours to get there.At the end of the tournament he played
12 people simultaneously.I felt bad for my wife as this was in the middle of winter and there wasn't much for her to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
