Rest easy, Ernie
January 31, 2012
Ernie Monstrocat has gone, and my heart is breaking more than a little bit.
For those of you who read about Ernie, here or on Brenda Griffith’s blog, you know he was a special, special cat. He came to me almost by accident, as a foster kitty, and turned out to be a social maven of monumental proportions. (As well as a digital jinx.)
During Ernie’s stay with me he attracted more worshippers than the PTL Club, who’d show up with forbidden treats like bacon. Hamburgers. Shrimp cocktail. Canned tuna clutched in grubby little kidpaws.
You’d never have guessed Ernie’s real history. It would have taken a very special cat to survive all that, much less thrive, but that’s what Ernie was.
When it came time for Ernie to find a permanent home, I almost didn’t let it happen–if I hadn’t known that Brenda, Jessie and Dave were waiting at the other end, Ernie would have never gotten out of the house. Waiting in the airport for his flight to be called was one of the harder things I’ve done.
But they were there, they gave Ernie his own little girl, rabbit, dogs and bacon, and from the sounds of it he lived the life of, well, Ernie, until the very end. It came on suddenly, turned out to be metastatic cancer…and Ernie was gone. Just like that.
Thank you, Brenda, for taking such good care of my friend.
Glass makes the news
March 10, 2010
Hey–just a fast note for Ernie lovers: Ernie’s mom is in the news.
Brenda Griffith, the powerhouse GlassValkyrie wonderwoman of Atlanta, is doing her best to convert the South to kilnforming (and beadmaking and glassblowing and, apparently, nude dates at the gloryhole, but that’s another story). She’s got a blog that’s fun to read; I’ve decided I want to be Brenda when I grow up.
And now FoxNews has reported on what she’s up to in a few segments. I’m not normally a fan of FoxAnything, but this is very cool. Give it a look.
I love it when glass (and a buddy) gets a headline. (And not a bad promo, either, Brenda. I notice you got a Bullseye t-shirt in there, your book, date night…way to go!)
Flying a cat
October 2, 2009
“Guys, get in here and look at this cat!”
The room slowly fills until six or seven Delta employees are peering into Ernie’s carrier, smiling and cooing. “Have you ever SEEN a cat this big? And isn’t he a sweetie?”
Ever just wanna go back to bed?
October 1, 2009
So I’m bundling Ernie off to Atlanta this morning, which is kind of a downer even as it’s a great victory, thanks to many, many of you kind folk, and I’m thrilled for him. The vet said “No food after 10pm the night before,” and Ernie is explaining, rather loudly, that this policy is unacceptable.
And he’s getting a bit nervous. Big new carrier in the hall, up at strange hours…something must be up. He’s watching me very carefully and asking for a lot of cuddles. Oh dear.
A note from Ernie
September 30, 2009
And a note from Ernie Monstrocat’s landlady:
This morning a perfect stranger walked up to me and gave me money. (And I WASN’T wearing my raggedy old studio clothes) “You’re Ernie’s landlady, right? This is to get Ernie to Atlanta.”
Give Ernie a Lift. Please?
September 29, 2009
Ernie, is that my package of ham in your luggage?
It’s time to pull out the big guns, ’cause Ernie needs to get to his new family in Atlanta. So…wanna help a cat-about-town in need of a ride?
Ernie was scheduled to fly to Atlanta to take up his position of studio cat (the perks include his own little girl and a dog to fetch and carry). We’d gotten a clean bill of health from his vet, most everyone stopped in to say goodbye, and I got ready to (sniff) take him to the airport.
Yesterday I got a call from Ernie’s aunt. “The plane ticket’s more expensive than I thought. You’ll have to find some other way to get him there or find him another home,” she said.
Clunk.
Ernie, soon to be world traveler
September 22, 2009
“Is Ernie busy this afternoon?” the caller asked, “I thought we could hang out together, if he’s free.”
I looked at Ernie Monstrocat, snoring on a chair in the studio. “What exactly did you think he’d be doing?” I inquired, “Taking a meeting at the White House?”
“Well, it’s Ernie,” she said, “You never know…”
Gremlins, baked goods and Ernie
September 4, 2009
Yesterday didn’t go at all well, so today I’m bright and early, hard at work, whittling down my giant to-do list. Just now, though, I’m at Sawtooth Bakery, enjoying an inexpensive breakfast, buying bread and having fun peoplewatching.
Tattoos, etchings and Ernie
July 31, 2009
(Sorry, folks, this one’s kind of a meander, but it’s too hot to think straight)
I’m moving through Powell’s big downtown bookstore in a wierdly dreamy, deja vu kinda way, strolling the stacks and digesting the day I’ve had so far: Making art, viewing art, and needing art…or rather needing to get real artistic, real fast, to make sure Ernie Monstrocat has a GOOD home.
Three D&D kids stroll past, discussing what life must be like in prison. “I don’t know why everyone says it’s so terrible to be a prisoner. All they have to do is lie there and read; it’d be like living in Powell’s.”
I ponder this new take on penology as I follow them into the Powell’s coffee shop. Gigi-the-iPhone buzzes at me: Ernie’s new daddy may be having second thoughts. Would I know of someone who might want him instead?
Ernie does digital
July 27, 2009
Ernie Monstrocat has a thing about computers. Or so it seems, because my best efforts to dislodge him from my Windows machine have so far come to naught. He and I had a serious talk yesterday about the problem I have with kittycats lying on expensive computer equipment.
He says that, with therapy, I’ll get over it.
In the meantime, finding the mouse (or the digitizing tablet) is a bit of a challenge. Not to mention using the keyboard.
We’ve been going through a routine; Ernie climbs up and settles onto the digitizing tablet, purring (this cat could outpurr a lion). I scoop him off, staggering a bit–this is not a small cat–and set him on the floor. He grumbles, circles around the desk, up the armchair and across to the tablet again. As far as I can tell he can keep this up indefinitely.
He’s adamantly a Microsoftie; Ernie ignores the Apple Mac completely and heads straight for Windows. I suspect it’d be even worse if I had Windows 7 on that machine.
The pictures above make it appear that Ernie settles in on the keyboard and drops off to sleep. In fact, he never actually stops moving, which means he’s introducing all sorts of interesting keystrokes and commands into any open application. Ernie in realtime looks a bit more like this:
I’ve erected a barrier between the armchair and my desk, of FiOS routers, software boxes, pencil cups and monitors. The configurations keep changing, as Ernie so far hasn’t had much trouble penetrating them all. He examines the latest fence, gives me a long look, and then moves the router aside with his paw and shoves his way through.
He plops down, smugly, and gives me his “enough of that. Time for petting” look.
BTW, Ernie’s going to his new home near Seattle next week, and I’ve got to admit I’m gonna miss him. I’m told his new daddy is a very nice fellow who will take loving care of Ernie Monstrocat.
He’d better.