So, I should introduce myself. Bev. Cooke. Writer. But you knew that, right? Or maybe you didn’t. Yes, that’s what I am. I live in Victoria, in an old, rambly, under renovations house that was built in 1912, with my husband, the reclusive luddite, my kids, my son the sargeant and my daughter the artist, and our two cats. Except when I run away and become a gold miner up island for years at a time, and never bathe or wash my clothes.

I guess I’ll start by talking about my cats - Gidget and Minou. Gidget is a big, fearful white and black cat who started life as a feral cat, living in the subway station near where “As Good as it Gets” with Jack Nicholson & Helen Hunt was filmed. She got tamed and adopted by my brother-in-law, who lived near there at the time. He adopted another cat, Minou, to keep her company while he was at work (he’s a neuropsychologist). Minou is grey and sleek and very convinced of his own magnificence. So they moved down to Texas, when Eric did, then back to New York City, and then when Eric’s son was born, they decided that two cats, one child and two adults in an apartment the size of my kitchen was a bit too much, so we got them. Well travelled cats - New York, Texas, New York and now Victoria, BC.

Minou thinks this is just great - he’s perfect, and all perfect cats should travel. Gidget, on the other hand, sees change as a fearful and uncertain thing. She’s happiest if she’s left to herself, sunning on the bed, or the dining room table, or, in the winter, curled up against the hot air register in the wall of the library.

If I can find a photo of them, I’ll post it.

Posted under Guest Author Blog