Here is our story of the finding and naming of dear friend Chuckles.
As a child Sarah had an orange kitty named ‘Chuck’. She had said
several times over a few years that someday she would like to have
another orange ‘Chuck-Kitty’. I never gave it much thought.
We were living in apartments during that time and could
not have pets.
It was May of 1984 when I found her. We had bought our first home the
preceding fall. We were visiting some friends Walter and Kathy on
Memorial Day weekend. That evening Walter needed to go to a friend’s
house for a moment and asked if I would like to ride along so I did.
When we arrived I didn’t pay it much attention at first
but there were kittens everywhere.
However as Walter was talking to his friend I started to
watch the kittens.
Then I began picking some up and petting them.
It was quite a number in that litter and all were eager for attention.
All except for two orange kitties that were intently playing
with each other. It caught my attention that they didn’t
pay me any mind at all; it drew me to them actually.
Then I remembered Sarah’s wish.
The two orange kitties were brother and sister and looked
so very much a like. They were just old enough for adoption.
I decided on a whim to take one home for Sarah.
There we were… four of five adult humans huddled around
on front sidewalk. With the ‘business ends’ of these two orange kitties up,
it was unanimous… the kitten in hand must be the one to come
home with me.
But something had gone terribly wrong….
Imagine our surprise a few days later when we took our new
‘Chuck-Kitty’ to the vet and were told that ‘he’ was a girl!
Having selected the name years before our actual acquaintance with
‘him’ what could we do? She was already ours; and we hers.
Sarah thought we should choose another name. She went to work
at once trying to think of one. I would not have it however.
Determined that Sarah would have her ‘Chuck-Kitty’,
I came up with ‘Chuckles’.
Interesting how the mind works… or doesn’t work sometimes.
What is so obvious to me now was hidden from me then.
So much easier and wiser it would have been to simply go back
and get the brother too… ‘Chuck’.
To have them both! Years later I would regret that I did not…
and for a variety of reasons. Part of me still does regret it; but part of me
knows the ‘perfection’ of things being the way they were… and are now.
Paul
| Chuckles |