Dad Rant Follow-Up

     Well, now I feel really bad.  Our downstairs neighbor, the subject of my Dad Rant of a few posts earlier, passed away in his apartment.
     Over the course of a few days a couple of weeks ago we'd noticed that the volume of his music hadn't changed at all, booming at the same level day and night.  We'd also noted that his outside front light was on continuously and his mailbox remained overstuffed.
     On the same day I'd asked the management office about doing a wellness check my wife had taken it upon herself to knock on his door.  Even though we'd gotten off to an odd start he did seem, though unique, like a decent guy. Like us, he pretty much kept to himself, and he did take great care of our building's adopted feral as if she was his own.
     He hadn't answered my wife's knocks, and she called me, concerned.  I let her know that the police were called and would be doing a wellness check, and she went on her way doing errands that morning.
     On returning she found our building swarmed with police and emergency vehicles and called me immediately, demanding to know what I'm sure she'd already feared.  His death was, apparently accidental.  He'd been gone only a day or two.
     To this day my wife thinks we could've done something more, would've been able to help him in some way had we tried earlier to check on him.
     I've tried to assure her repeatedly that we did what we thought best, given the awkward way we started out as neighbors.  
     The music volume thing was nothing unusual, and we didn't want to come across as being nosy or intrusive by "checking on" him any sooner than we did.  We'd heard him moving about only two or so days earlier. I know deep down my wife doesn't accept this, and it still bothers her.
     
     

An Old Favorite

I've more than likely already used this photo in a post.  I'm just too lazy to look back over Orbit's entire blog to check, though.
     Of the gazillion photos we have of the little old guy I think we probably have dozens of him on our shoulders, a place he'd always loved to be.
     This picture is one of my all-time favorites.  I'm not sure why, but I just love Orbit's expression.  If we look close enough the backs of some of our shirts still contain the tiny holes from his claws as he hung onto our shoulders.

Back From Vacation

My visit with family was, overall, too short.  As usual, it included some unwanted drama, a fair amount of running around,

and one missed flight due to a failed rechargeable battery on the plane.  Besides seeing some of my children and playing with my beautiful granddaughter one of the joys of the trip was having feline friends along every step of the way.  The top photo is of my daughter's gigantic ball of laid back cattitude, Brutus, who must weigh in at around 40 pounds.  Though this picture doesn't really show it Brutus is one massive mancat.
     The sleek beauties in the bottom photo are sisters, who belong to my son.  Sadie, the short-haired one one the right, is one of the most loving, cuddly girls you'll ever find.
     The night I stayed there she slept with me, and woke me up almost every hour, it seemed, crawling over my head, laying across my neck, and gently nudging my face and hands with her nose, seeking attention.
      Although I failed to get any pictures I also spent one night with one of my brothers, who is the proud servant of a gorgeous charcoal-hued princess.
    As if I needed any prodding, being around these critters has made me want to find another  furry friend more than ever.