The "Baby Chronicles" continue:

1. My parents were once driving around running errands in their car. They were driving on a major road about a mile from the house, returning home. They saw a cat stroll across the road in front of them. My mom said: "That looks like Baby!" Upon further inspection, it was determined that it was Baby. He was about a mile from the house, with a long walk through some woods to get to the house. My parents continued on their drive, and Baby continued on his stroll. My parents arrived home a few minutes later. About 15 minutes later Baby strolls into the yard with his usual "the world is my oyster but I am going to be nonchalant about it" look on his face. The "world traveler" had returned to his home port.

2. When my parents were building their house, the cat was curious beyond belief. His favorite trick was to climb inside the walls of the house. This was before the gypsum board had been nailed up, of course. There was a small crawl space on the second floor where the bottom of a dormer merged with the roof. The cat would crawl the length of the house in this small space, somehow turn around, and come out again. He would disappear into a space in the insulation. You could hear him crawling behind the insulation. Then he would pop out again a few minutes later. When the gypsum board and plaster went up, and a small door was put on the entry into the dead space under the roof and next to the dormer he was sad. He would endlessly struggle to open this little door.

Copyright © Aaron Hirshberg
March 16, 2000