Please visit this link (now, right now, before reading this) to Wisdom of the Orient Cat, by Dr. Seuss.
One afternoon, as happy hour neared,
Not halfway to his stop, he felt it rain.
At first a little bit -- but soon he feared
He might be soaked before he caught his train.
He ducked inside a place he'd never been,
A Chinese sortof rest'raunt, sortof bar.
The hostess at the doorway let him in,
But didn't let him navigate too far:
"For dinner?" she inquired, and he said no,
A drink. And so she let him stand and wait
Along with sev'ral others, with a show
Of slight disdain enlivening her gait,
While serving finer clients scotch, and gin.
So he approached the bar, took off his coat,
And draped it on a stool. A girl came in,
Her hair as wet as if she'd swum the moat
To reach the door. Surveying all around,
She picked the barstool next to his, and sat.
She dabbed her hair with cocktail napkins, found
Her wallet, then looked up, and then said, "Cat."
He'd noticed it as well. Behind the drinks,
A print. An image he had known for years.
He glanced, and thought, I wonder what she thinks.
Then looked away -- old, adolescent fears
Of calling girls and asking for a date
Closed up his throat. He felt a troubling stir:
He'd like to talk. Not yet. He'd better wait
To see if someone else came in for her.
She finished digging through her purse at last,
Said "Wisdom of the Orient," and he,
Incredulous, turned 'round a bit too fast,
And hurt his neck -- then stood, and hit his knee.
The stool pitched forward, and he tripped and fell.
He landed with a twisting, and a yelp.
His ankle'd just been broken. He could tell.
He let the hostess telephone for help,
And let another patron get his coat.
A cab arrived. He took a bus'ness card,
And while he quickly made some sort of note,
He asked her, "you alone?" It wasn't hard.
It was perhaps, the easiest of things.
Like falling off a log. She smiled and said,
"I am." He hoped for what tomorrow brings,
And handed her the card. His name. She read,
"Sam." And smiled again. She read, "McGee?"
He waved, and hoped her weekend might be free.
And she read, "You will like me. You will see."
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Alysa Salzberg
Melissa Miles McCarter
Scarlett Sumac
jlsathre
Matt Paust
Jowita Bydlowska
Salon.com
Comments
Was that your ankle, most untidily broken? I hope it's better.
Make good the Hope for what tomorrow brings!
Dr Seuss meets Robert Service!
She will like him in the rain
And she will like him on a train
And in a car or down the street
How good it is they got to meet
I had never heard of Sam McGee. There. I've said it. And having said it, I'll go back and read it. Thank you Jan, my very learned friend.
froggy: not my ankle! It's fiction.
Kim: thanks man. It came out of an unexpected place. Nothing like a good pratfall to start things off.
Ken, loved writing it. (Stayed up too late.)
Jan, I fear you will always be one step ahead of me. Next time I will google a name, if I'm going to give it to a character.
Muse, thank you very.
anna1, the story sort of was crystallizing in my head for the entire several days I was sick. Some inward events, some outward. And of course Dr. Seuss.
Kate, yes optimism. I spoon it onto my cereal in the morning, like sugar.
catch-22, that is a very high compliment, and I am honored to get it.
trilogy, thanks. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Not sick, but pretty tired.
pastvoices, keep visiting. I'll try to keep writing them.
consonantsandvowels,
Thank you for the things you see!
Thank you, thank you, c&v!
Goodnight all. It is exciting and endearing to see you all.