Candy, Shellby, or Cat?

I love cats. I love dogs, too. In fact I have a great love of many, many animals. Mainly mammals, it has to be said. Not that I've got anything against any other type of animal. I just prefer mammals.

Cats, though, I love more than all other animals. Not just 'domesticated' cats, (a term I would use loosely in relation to cats) all cats: small, medium and big. I admire, respect, and even revere, cats. I have done so from a very young age, and I have inculcated my daughter from an even younger age to also love cats.

We don't 'have' a cat, and I use that term, 'have', even more loosely. As I would the term 'own' when it comes to cats. I think most people know cats are not like dogs. Dogs you can own, cats you can't. Anyone in any doubt about that, in fact anyone in any doubt about cats full-stop, and there are lots of people who just don't understand cats, wants to read 'The Cat That Walked By Himself' by Rudyard Kipling.

The next door neighbours 'have' two cats. They've had them since they were kittens, the cats not the neighbours. Kumali and I have communed with both cats since we first met them. Felix has shown no great interest in us; Candy has.

Candy has taken to coming into our house at every available opportunity. We've taken to calling Candy 'Shellby'. The next door neighbours son can often be heard calling for Candy. We can often be heard saying to each other, 'We better wake her up and put her outside.'

We rarely do, and it is getting to the stage where Candy/Shellby spends most of it's time in our house. Candy/Shellby? She's a cat who walks by herself.

I think I might buy a copy of the Kipling's story for the boy who lives next door, before I break the news to him!

Poplitical Idol

What is with Americans and their presidential candidates? Do they really believe that by investing their utmost faith, hope and belief in one person that that one person will make everything okay in America and the rest of the world?

Am I the only person who squirms uncomfortably in front of the television, while trying to keep the vomit from hurtling up my throat and out of my mouth, as I watch footage of the 'race for the presidency'?

Aside from the millions of dollars being wasted to convince people to vote for 'Clinton', 'Obama', 'McCain', et al, what disturbs me most is the blind, unstinting faith that the American public appear to have for their chosen one.

How can anyone become so pop star fixated with people who are politicians? By the very nature of the beast, politicians need to be distrusted, suspected and treated with suspicion at all times. It is a grave error of judgement (and sanity) to fawn all over them, praise them, idolise them and worship them.

Anybody standing for any political office, or any position of power, ought to be interrogated, questioned exhaustively and tested over and over again to ensure that they have the integrity, intelligence and insight required for that office/position. And the more money they have to spend to convince you they are the person for the job the more they need to be interrogated, questioned and tested.