4:12 p.m. - 2006-05-05
Oh Henry
Yesterday I went Dragonboat racing. What is this, you ask? It's like a big, long canoe, where two people share one bench, with about 10 benches and pairs of people on board, and you each paddle on your side, in sync. There is a person in the front, facing the paddlers who beats a drum to keep the rhythm of the paddling and a person in back who steers with this big rudder thing.
My LDI class did this, two teams of about twenty, as a race and team building exercise. It was pretty fun actually. Hard work, though. My back muscles are not happy today.
Now, it's time for a funny story. I know, it's been a while.
So, Kevin was out of town last week and will be again next week. Boo. When Kevin is out of town, I 1. am sad and 2. am in charge of the cats, the fish and the mail at his house, so obviously it is just easier to stay there.
After work and whatever extra curricular evening activities I have going on, I'd arrive at the house to two kitties who were not happy at being left alone for so long. Catnip does wonders to make cats forget they are mad. But they produce strange effects. When Henry the cat sniffs the catnip, first he gets really excited, then he rubs his head in it, then he rolls in it and kind of zones out like he's like totally stoned, dude. But then after about five minutes of this, he becomes very frisky, playing with anything that moves, running around, chasing Ted, the other cat, chsing nothign at all, but acting like he's chasing something...that's really funny when he does that. So anyway, I had settled into the latter part of a long evening, to watch Invasion or something, when Henry is in the midst of his crazed, running around state. He tears down the stairs, takes a flying leap onto the futon, and uses that as a launch pad to propel himself up onto the television set, which is rather large. He stops, and seems sort of surprised to find himself up there. Then he looks over the other side of the TV into MAGIC NEVER BEFORE SEEN BEHIND THE TELEVISION LAND.
Kevin has a rather large entertainment center that is basically a series of shelves that house CDs, DVDs, "action figures" and a VCR, DVD player, stereo, etc. system. directly behind the four foot tall TV set is a space about 8 inches wide, between the TV and the wall. On either side of the TV are these tiered shelves that extend all the way across the living room, to either wall. Henry looks down into this dark crevice, looks at me, like "What would you do if I went back there?"
The rest happens in slow motion. Henry crouches, his rear end toward me, his head leaning over the back of the tv, in that kitty stance where they brace all four paws on the same ledge and then let their front paws slide down until they have to jump. I leap from the couch and shout "Hennnn-rrrrry......Noooooooooo" But to no avail.
Thud.
"Meow?"
Henry is stuck behind the TV. The large, bigger than the refrigerator TV. Kevin is in Chicago. Henry is not happy. "meow?" "Meow? "Rrrrrr-ow!" Jessi is not the slightest bit surprised that something like this would happen now, when she is alone.
"Henry! I'm sorry! I don't know how to get you out!" I look at all of the shelves hoping one is open in the back, but they are all solid.
I consider going next door to Joe, the neighbor's house to see if he wouldn't like to come over and move the 9 million pound television, but I decide against it, since Joe has 2 sleeping little ones and two dogs that bark.
I try and decide how long Henry would be ok back there to figure oiut how much time I have (call my dad in the mornign and have him come over?) but then I think of all of the electrical wires and how much trouble a bored, trapped, naughtly kitty could get himself in.
So, of course, I call Kevin who is in Shaumburg, Illinois having dinner with another site director in a very loud bar. I try to explain the situation, growing more and more anxious as I yell into the phone. After a lot of yelling and "What did you say?" I finally communicate the situation to him. I think 1. "I hope he's not mad. and 2. "What the hell am I going to do?"
Fortunately my fiance is a smart man, prepared for everything, from a middle of the night break in (policeman's night stick under the bed) to any situation where 793 plastic grocery store bags might be needed.
It seems that the television is on wheels.
How about that?
With a firm push, it came away from the wall and Henry walked out and looked at me like "Yeah, I do that all the time."
