Eureka!

Last night I had a small and perhaps brief break-through with Leo. My formerly stray kitten is still very timid around me. Around other cats, fine, but around people, shy and scared. I’ve been doing everything I can to not do anything sudden around him as I try to win him over.

Last night, he was up on my grandmother’s dresser in the guest room/office. In a perverse way, I decided instead of yelling to get him off, I’d just shower him with attention and he’d scamper away. He slipped off the dresser onto the chair beside it in true form, and I reached out to rub him, expecting him to bolt as normal. No, he actually enjoyed it. After about 30 seconds, a tiny purr erupted. He let me rub him for over a minute, purring the rest of the time…

awwwwww!!

I think, given time, he’s going to come around. I hadn’t thought this would be the case until AFTER the antibiotic for his cold was done (one more dose!).

On a totally different note, with the 4th coming, we had a contest poll the other day for a free picnic basket (the trivia contest itself just qualified you for a chance at a drawing, no pic-a-nic basket for me). I was discussing one of the answers with a co-worker. The question involved, Molly Pitcher, a woman from the Revolutionary War who took up her husband’s place in the battle when he fell. I knew she was the answer to the question. Why? Because my great, great, great grandfather was a revolutionary war soldier and he saw her in action. This surprised my co-worker, that I had to go so few generations to get back to the revolution. I guess I take it for granted, but we had some LONG lived and late-bearing generations along the way. My Mom’s mother was in her 40’s when my Mom, child #2, was born. Grandmother was the oldest, but her dad was near 30 when she was born. And great grandfather was the baby of 17 kids. His father, who was the son of the revolutionary war solder, William Johnston, was the youngest boy 0f 24 children, three sisters being younger than he was. His dad was in his 70’s when he was born and lived into his 80’s. So, Ma-Ma (my grandmother) grew up in the house with her grandfather, whose Dad not only told him stories of the revolutionary war but named him for two of his commanding officers, General Daniel Morgan and Colonel Richard Parker – hence Morgan Parker Johnston. I did a little math to see where someone my age would be assuming that each of their generations had parents about 30 (I aimed a little high to allow that every generation was not the first born), and I guess I should be somewhere more around five greats…