Originally, I was going to title this piece “Cat Lovers—here’s a post for you!” but I decided I’d attract more people to it with the title I used.
Got into a big brouhaha with the township council in my hometown a few years back.
They had passed a law requiring leaches for cats—which I thought was overkill—and I decided to challenge them on it.
When they insisted on passing the law despite compelling arguments against it from several of us, I (rashly) told them I would bring “national attention to this stupidity!”
The remark got a few chuckles from the council--but I just reminded them that the person who laughs last, laughs best.
Anyway, I managed to get a MY TURN column in Newsweek Magazine on the issue…which pretty much met my goal. And I’m rather proud of having been published on this scale.
Just came across the piece while searching for something else. Thought I’d share it with you. You’ll find it here.
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Jan Sand
ThroughMyEyes
Andrew E. Mathis
aim
David Biddle
aging hippie chick
Salon.com
Comments
Pisaway was great, btw
But the little that he is allowed "out the front" is on a leash. This is mostly because, while G is as smart as they come, he isn't much of a cat. (For instance, the idea of climbing a tree has never crossed his mind. )
My neighbor in the condo right next door has the world's meanest (when it comes to kittys) dog. If Max ever got out at the same time G was out---he would be the late, great cat. Also, there is a little thing called the Pacific Coast Hwy that runs right outside our gate. It is littered each morning with a collection of "run-over" skunks, squirrels, rabbits, raccoon and the occasional deer and coyote.
Sometimes cats on leash is a good thing. Leaches, however, always bad.
I've already congratulated you often on being published.
But the decisions made by the council members seem completely absurd. WTF? There had to be a number of better options for trying to make the owners of the offending cat assume responsibility for their pet.
Good job putting it into the national limelight; and “stupid” was the correct descriptor.
rated
I've linked to you and it in the "my 25" blog I posted today (see http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=71940) , in the entry that deals with fighting city hall on pet issues. Eternal vigilance is needed to keep these idiocies in check.
Mea culpa; mea culpa; mea maxima culpa!
Goddam word should be able to spell itself. Reminds me of the trouble I go through whenever I have to use “advise” or “advice.”
Anyway…thanks to everyone for reading the piece and commenting. The leash law has been in place for almost 15 years now and has NEVER ONCE been enforced! Not one time.
Newsweek got over a hundred letters of response. The MY TURN editor noted that they don’t get that many letters when war is declared.
Glad someone complimented me on the Pisaway NJ thingy. Two letters dealt with that…one from the mayor of our town who went apeshit because of the insult…and one from a guy who mentioned that someone with a name like A-pis-a should be careful about throwing rocks.
But hey…bottom line is that the council idiocy got me a full page essay in Newsweek ($1000 stipend for the piece); a half page complete with huge picture of me and my cats on the front page, above the fold, of the second section of the New York Times, April 10, 1994; and several television news appearances on New York stations that I managed to rouse!
You gotta take advantage of this kind of thing!
Leashing a cat is about as easy as bathing one!
LMAO
Happy New Year
rated - because I horse laughed
I can't believe the money and time wasted on making an ordinance that no one ever planned to use? Just because someone was to lazy or cheap to put a damn lid on their kid's sandbox?
Greg…looking forward to “My first porn movie.” First you’ve ever been in??? First you’ve ever produced or directed? First you’ve ever seen???
Larry, I knew you’d love this one.
Lainey, say HI to Crystal from Sparkyjayne.
Catwoman…like I said in the piece, I won’t be outsmarted by an animal with a brain the size of a walnut. Although….
It reminds me of one of my favorite pieces in the NYT last year -- a profile of a man who walks his remarkably poised cat, an Abyssinian named Radar, through Central Park. The story -- and it's charming photo gallery -- is great fun:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/nyregion/thecity/22cat.html
I still chuckle at the reference to the "incredulous black Lab."
It's an interesting subject you raise. My cat, like m.a.h's, isn't much of a cat -- Lucas was a shelter kitty around big friendly dogs, and now cannot fathom life outside my apartment. He's completely guileless. If let out, I've no doubt he'd be run over -- or lunch -- in fairly short order.
Also . . . $1,000 for a Newsweek My Turn piece -- wow! It deserved that, or more, of course -- but I doubt, as all publishing takes it on the chin, you'd get anything like that today. I'm curious. . .
So is the third sibling in your family also a brilliant writer?
Loved the piece in Newsweek, especially the Pisaway, NJ. reference. (But as a dog and bird lover, I've gotta vote with the town council on this one. Cats who wander into my yard do so at their own peril.)
Cat...leash. Yeah, right. Except for m.a.h.'s, of course. ;)
I can't believe they left the law in place after the media hullabaloo!!