Lincoln was the first President to have ‘this’ in the White House

A Cat.  Which gets back to my ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get kittens’ adage.  The going was definitely tough for Lincoln.  And for General Robert E. Lee, who, interestingly enough, also loved cats.   If only love of cats could have united these two great leaders.

*Image of much-loved cats.  The two oriental short hair kitties, Gabby and Pookah, are no longer with us, but our rescue kitty, Minnie Mae, still is.

There are many notable cat lovers in history.  To name a few:  The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Ann.  I expect many writers names to pop up on this list.  Here’s another Charles Dickens.  Perhaps the best known author/cat lover is Mark Twain.   It might save time to note those writers who didn’t or don’t favor cats.  Let me know if you think of any.  No one comes to mind.

An interesting article, A Few Famous Cat Lovers, gives a more complete list.

“No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.” – Abraham Lincoln

“The naming of cats is a difficult matter. It isn’t just one of your holiday games. You may think at first I’m mad as a hatter. When I tell you a cat must have three different names…” – T.S. Eliot

And most of ours do–P. Cuthbert Wiggins, for one.  The P. stands for Percival and so we call him Percy, a dignified and highly affectionate Tabby.  Also the first name of the Scarlet Pimpernel, I might add.

“When I play with my cat, how do I know that she is not passing time with me rather than I with her?” – Montaigne

*Image of Percy and our funny SPCA rescue mix, Mia, in their younger days, taken by my mom, Pat Churchman. Percy is also a rescue kitty.

“After scolding one’s cat one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference.”- Charlotte Gray

“You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.”- George Mikes

“Cats are kindly masters, just so long as you remember your place.”- Paul Gray

“One must love a cat on its own terms.”- Paul Gray

“Prowling his own quiet backyard or asleep by the fire, he is still only a whisker away from the wilds.” – Jean Burden

“Cats do not have to be shown how to have a good time, for they are unfailing ingenious in that respect.” – James Mason

Our Siamese tabby mix, Pavel, is a kitten/cat now, small for his age, insatiably curious, and ever on the prowl for playthings.  A gentle paw tags me for a round of ‘get the kitten’ which involves chasing him through the house.   In his blue eyes I see intelligence and affection, but given on his terms.  He’s quite busy, you see.  Apart from naps.

*Image of Pave, our latest rescue kitty, taken by daughter Elise.

“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.” – Cleveland Amory

Cats

In our family, when the going gets tough, the tough get kittens.  Considering how this year has gone so far, it’s about time for a new kitten.  We love our cats.  Well, most of the time.

Two of my favorite things are cats and books and the two seem to go together very well.  I also have a small dog who snoozes beside me as I read and write, but our gray tabby Percy is always at the ready for a good cuddle and a nap.   Our shy cat Minnie Mae is more likely to perch nearby.  We also have a number of barn kitties, but that’s another story.  We used to have two oriental shorthair cats, Gabby and her son Pookah, who lived with us in the house for years until they died and I miss them.  Fascinating breed.  I’m partial to Orientals, and of course, tabbies and other down to earth cats~

A meow massages the heart. – Stuart McMillan

“You can’t help that. We’re all mad here.” – The Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland

“No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Of all God’s creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” – Mark Twain

“You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.”- George Mikes

“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.” – Anonymous

“Cats are kindly masters, just so long as you remember your place.”- Paul Gray

“One must love a cat on its own terms.”- Paul Gray

Cats can be cooperative when something feels good, which, to a cat, is the way everything is supposed to feel as much of the time as possible. – Roger Caras

By and large, people who enjoy teaching animals to roll over will find themselves happier with a dog. – Barbara Holland

Cats are the ultimate narcissists. You can tell this by all the time they spend on personal grooming. Dogs aren’t like this. A dog’s idea of personal grooming is to roll in a dead fish. – James Gorman

As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind. – Cleveland Amory

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. – Albert Schweitzer

There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat. – Tay Hohoff

Most beds sleep up to six cats. Ten cats without the owner. – Stephen Baker

There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten. – Jules Champfleury

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.” – Jeff Valdez

“You can not look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.” – Jane Pauley

“The really great thing about cats is their endless variety. One can pick a cat to fit almost any kind of decor, color, scheme, income, personality, mood. But under the fur, whatever color it may be, there still lies, essentially unchanged, one of the world’s free souls.” – Eric Gurney

“I found out why cats drink out of the toilet. My mother told me it’s because the water is cold in there. And I’m like: How did my mother know that?” – Wendy Liebman

“An ordinary kitten will ask more questions than any five year old.” – Carl Van Vechten

“If the pull of the outside world is strong, there is also a pull towards the human. The cat may disappear on its own errands, but sooner or later, it returns once again for a little while, to greet us with its own type of love. Independent as they are, cats find more than pleasure in our company.”- Lloyd Alexander

Every life should have nine cats. – Anonymous

You are my cat and I am your human. – Hilaire Belloc

Do You Remember The Patriots?

When you celebrate Memorial Day, do you remember the original Patriots, The Founding Fathers and Mothers, you know, those guys?  I do.

Maybe it’s because I live in historic rich Virginia and my ancestors were among those early Americans, maybe because I’ve invested years of study in The American Revolution and the  events leading up to it.  I get it.  I know what it was all about.  And it was a big deal, a huge deal with a shot heard round the world.  I’m also acutely aware of how far our country has strayed from those hard-won ideals and the need to get back to them before we are unrecognizable as the United States Of America.  More bailouts won’t get us there.  Nor yet more big government.

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. ~ George Bernard Shaw

 

Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficient. ~ Louis Brandeis

This country was founded on a fight to the death for the principal of FREEDOM.  Getting to be a rare concept.  But it was.  Those original Patriots didn’t slog through blood soaked fields choked in clouds of musket powder and barraged by cannon fire in the worst weather Mother Nature can hurl at you because they didn’t care about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.  But because they’d rather have these vital qualities in their life than live without them.  They wouldn’t give up, they wouldn’t quit.  Somehow, somewhere when the war dragged on and the days seemed blackest they hung on and found a way.  So can we.

Last year, my Revolutionary War novel Enemy of the King was published by The Wild Rose Press.  Yes, it’s a romance, but my intensive research took years and that story is as accurate an insight into the time period as any serious fiction novel.  If you haven’t read Enemy of the King, do not demean my efforts because it falls under the category of romance.   Surprise, surprise.  They fell in love back then too.  In fact, it was partly the love of a woman that lead Benjamin Arnold to his infamous downfall.  I’ll bet you’ve heard of him.

My colonial American ancestor kept a record of his experience in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse that’s used by historians today.  That alone gives me the right to pen a novel set during the Revolution.  And there are others on all sides of the family who fought in that war.   The journalist was Sam Houston, uncle of the famous Sam.  His account and others from Virginia and Carolina Scots-Irishmen who fought in the Southern face of the war inspired my initial plunge into the high drama of the American Revolution, one of the most  fascinating periods of history.   And vitally relevant to the state of our nation today.  I challenge you to read up on the men and women who sacrificed so much in shaping the country we are blessed to live in.  Cherish the ideals they fought for and remember.  Never take them for granted.  They are all too easily taken away, and not readily given.  The struggle for independence is ongoing.

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. ~ Abraham Lincoln

The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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In Enemy of the King I focused on the Southern face of the war in the Carolinas and featured the little known but all-important battle of King’s Mountain. That pivotal battle in the fall of 1780 turned the tide of the Revolution during a very dark year.   I’ve walked that battle field twice atop the wooded knob called King’s Mountain.   Awesome, at least for one with my imagination.  I could almost hear the musket fire and battle cries lingering in the smoky air.  Being a natural born romantic, I wrote a historical romance set during one of the most all-consuming periods ever.    Even with an excellent literary agent representing me, New York publishing Houses declined, said readers aren’t interested in colonial America, that the Revolution wasn’t sexy or exciting enough.  But I’m kind of like my tenacious ancestors and refused to give up.  Years later, the Wild Rose Press was quite happy to publish it.

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OK readers, prove New York wrong. Join in the adventure.   Maybe I’ll even get around to writing that sequel I have on the backburner.

If you would like the opportunity to win a FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (E-Book) of ENEMY OF THE KING, leave me a comment to that effect.    And God bless you and all who sail with you. 🙂

And now, for your listening pleasure, the opening score from The Patriot. Poignant, perfect for this time period, and a deeply stirring soundtrack.  I love it, but especially the theme song.