Kelly and Friends

About the Book

The book begins with Kelly telling us that it is ‘GOOD to be the cat’, and how thankful she is to have found her humans, Tom, Irene, Mike and Valerie. Then the author takes up the tale by telling about finding Tramp, a filthy little kitten who showed up at a Fourth of July picnic, taking him home, pleased with his presence in the house only to be crushed several weeks later by his sudden disappearance. Then, as a gift from the heavens, Kelly comes into our lives when brought to us by a young girl who lived next door. We’re supposed to baby sit Kelly until the young girl finds a home for her, but it seems Kelly has already found a home since “the humans are great, even the man who is always lifting me and holding me in his arms while scratching my ears and talking to me”. She soon became the neighborhood cat snooping and nosing all over the place. Her curiosity got her locked in a neighbor’s garage giving us a fright thinking another disappearance had occurred. She proudly brought her ‘treasures’ to us. One such occasion led to a live mouse scurrying around the house with Irene, Kelly and I in hot pursuit. She mixed it up with Guenevere, a black and white male cat next door and ‘watched’ Heidi, a cute Schnauzer, also next door. She palled around with Penny, an accommodating Labrador who lived across the street and shared her food with Kelly. Other episodes occurred; The Vet, The Flower Pot, playing hide and seek with school kids waiting for the bus; never a dull moment with Kelly, but so much love. Then, finding a new job near Cincinnati, OH, the family found themselves faced with how to get Kelly to our new home. A fuzzy-headed airplane ride was the answer where Kelly describes her befuddlement with all the people toting luggage and those ‘big metal things out there with windows.’ There was an unnecessary intrigue at a motel - “Why are you wrapping me in this blanket?” - and then moving into a town house where Kelly had a small stand of trees in the back where she explored. Finally, after an exhausting search we bought a house which meant more moving for Kelly but once there she found a field in back that she delighted in. Kelly’s escapades continued but she had three friendly cats nearby - Mimi, Gabby and Jigs. No fighting for turf, just genial hanging out. Her exploits included getting locked inside another garage, getting shot, becoming the mascot for a Little League team, and a close encounter with a skunk. Kelly’s words tell of some of her experiences. Being homeless; ‘…here I am a few houses away, a lonely waif ..”. Her first contact with us; “There’s three other humans at the table; a woman, a young girl, and a young boy.” A close encounter with a skunk; “I can hardly breathe and it’s making me gag. Mommy! Tom!. Mike! Valerie! Come save me…” . The author has included many photographs of Kelly, which, except for one, were taken by his wife, Irene, who in some instances captured Kelly‘s soul. Perhaps one had to have known Kelly to have this feeling.

About the Author

The author was born in Annapolis, MD on September 10, 1929. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 through 1954. Using his GI bill funding, he earned a B.S. in Electronic Physics from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA in1964. He worked at RCA in Moorestown, NJ from 1961 to 1972 and at Cincinnati Electronics Corporation located about 15 miles north of Cincinnati in both Evendale and Mason, OH from 1972 to 1989. He was an electronic design engineer, a project manager and then, moving into management, a program manager. He married his wife, Irene, on June 16, 1956. He has two children, Mike and Valerie with three grandchildren, Mandi, Alexandra and Sarah. In July, 2004, he and his wife retired to Largo, FL where they still reside and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2006.