Questions and Answers

I'm copying from Rich's recent post. I love these kinds of things, so here it goes . . .

1.What is your full name? Tamela Marie Dicken
2. What color pants are you wearing? I'm wearing my light blue pajama bottoms
3. What are you listening to right now? The sound of my washing spinning out
4. What was the last thing you ate? pizza
5. Do you wish on stars? yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? purple
7. How is the weather right now? it is dawn and cool
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Farrah
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? well, he didn't really send it to me, but I like him
10. How old are you today? 46
11. Favorite drink? iced tea
12. Favorite sport to play? volleyball
13. Hair color? brown and silver :)
14. Do you wear contacts? no - not since my surgery
15. Do you have any siblings? this is tricky - right now I have 4 step brothers, one 1/2 brother from one side and another 1/2 brother from the other side
16. Favorite month? June
17. Favorite food? crab legs
18. What was the last movie you saw? Wallace and Grommet
19. Favorite day of the year? March 1
20. What do you do to vent anger? clean the house
21. What were your favorite toys as a child? I don't remember a favorite
22. Summer or winter? Summer
23. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
24. Chocolate or vanilla? Both
25. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? N/A
26. Who is most likely to respond? N/A
27. Who is least likely to respond? N/A
28. When was the last time you cried? Wednesday night when Yankee "went to sleep"
29. What is under your bed? drawers
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Ramona
31. What did you do last night? took a ride in Farrah and Jim's new car, ate pizza, watched Reba
32. What are you scared of? heights, elevators, bridges, spiders
33. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? Buttered
34. Favorite car? Sonata
35. Favorite flower? columbine
36. Number of keys on your key ring? 3
37. How many years at your current job? 7
38. Favorite day of the week? Monday
39. What did you do on your last birthday? stayed in Niagara Falls
40. How many states have you lived in? 3
41. How many cities have you lived in? 4

Yankee Doodle

Sixteen years ago, when she was five, Farrah decided she wanted a white cat with blue eyes. This decision was made after she saw one in a pet store for $300. I explained to her that she hadn't been born to a family that paid $300 for cats, but that we would see what we could do.

It wasn't long before an acquaintance of ours was blessed with a litter of kittens; one being all white and eyes that we could pretend were blue. Farrah was thrilled when we brought the kitten home. He had been born on the 4th of July, so we named him Yankee Doodle.

Yankee Doodle was an "only child" for a while; then came Sasha. Sasha was dropped on our doorstep by a "friend" who knew we couldn't turn down a kitten. He , however, developed a very bad attitude and tried to show us who was in charge by "marking" everything. We tried behavior modifications, nerve pills and anti-depressents (for Sasha, not us), but his behavior did not improve. So - Sasha didn't last too long.

Next came Annie. A dog that had been abused and left to die along side a road. Annie was an epileptic with allergies. She was devoted to me and my best friend for many years. A kidney problem developed, she began to suffer, so we let her go.

Yankee, however, was always a low maintenance pet. He was very independent and pretty much took care of himself. He let us know when he wanted to be petted and he let us know when he was tired of being petted. He groomed himself well, understood at all times what to do in a litter box, and came to get us when it was time for his canned cat food. On weekends if we didn't wake up at the week-day time, he would wake us up.

Yankee's age began to show. He couldn't quite groom himself as well as he once did. His long white hair often became matted on his back, so we began to shave him regularly. Several months ago, Jeff built steps and carpeted them, so Yankee could climb on our bed. Yankee continued to purr and talk to us, but he was slowing down.

For the last couple of weeks, he began to sleep all the time. I would have to wake him up to make him eat - but I couldn't make him eat enough. Last night we took him to the vet and he spent the night as they tried to determine what his ailment was. Tonight we were told it would take more extensive testing to find out the specific problem and then we might be told there is nothing we can do about the problem.

In people years, Yankee was 95 years old. The vet told us that Yankee was a "very old man" and a "very sick cat". Jeff went to be with Yankee at about 6:00 p.m. tonight when he was put to sleep.

Yes, I'm sad. I cried for a while, even though I know we did the kindest thing. I'm just going to believe that Yankee has been reunited with Sasha and Annie.

Yankee Doodle Dicken
July 4, 1989 - November 9, 2005