For the multitude of readers requesting an update on our little bottle-fed Summer Superstar, we have good news. Cheryl, Bennie’s new Upstate Mom, sends us pictures and videos showing Bennie’s good fortunes.
Bennie learning to eat with his three Big Brothers –
he’s a Big Boy now – one of the guys!
he loves to run and chase the Brothers,
but then he gives everyone a rest when he takes a break
Thanks to the US Postal Service for preserving Bennie’s sweet face (or some other lucky puss) on a Forever Stamp. It’s a collectible, right?
And thanks to Cheryl for the updates, pictures, videos – we miss him and are grateful to her for keeping us in touch.
Pretty has a new bumper sticker on her work truck:
Fools rush in Where wise men never go But wise men never fall in love So how are they to know When we met I felt my life begin So open up your heart and let This fool rush in
(nineteen days later at large military parade in Beijing)
Honestly, Xi, I don’t know where Trump gets the idea I’m in love with him, protests Putin.
That’s just how fickle his love is, Kim Jong Un blurted out. I have the love letters to prove it. What a two-timer. Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.
Boys, boys, settle down in front of the military. We’ll discuss the United States back at the palace – we’ll sign secret tariff agreements and maybe have time for a round of golf. We’ll play at MY club where you fellows have a chance to win, Xi said. As for Trump, I’ll set up a zoom call of let’s make a deal with him that will send him down to Heartbreak Hotel. He ain’t nothing but a hound dog anyway. Crying all the time.
Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December, but the days grow shortwhen you reach September. When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, one hasn′t got timefor the waiting game.
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few: September, November. And these few precious days, I’ll spend with you. These precious daysI’ll spend with you.
Writers Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson wrote these haunting words in 1938, eight years before I was born. The days do grow short in September, more precious with each passing year. I choose to spend them with you…
Spoiler alert: the person sitting down was the winner.
I am surrounded by the players:
Pretty, Darlene, Dawne, Patti and Dan
(Dan was the person who invented Jungle Croquet
and designed the course)
Pretty felt confident during our soothing pre-match meditation
I wasn’t happy with my orange ball,
but everyone else picked theirs first
I started out “hot” and never looked back at my competition
Pretty and sis Darlene couldn’t believe their eyes
(these Williams sisters have the confidence of winning like two other Williams sisterswho are household names in another sport now being played in New York)
getting down to the wire – Patti, Dan, and Pretty try to catch me
in the end, it was all about second place!
the medal winners: Dan with silver, Patti with bronze, and well,
the gold went to me forsome reason
known only to the gods of pure chance
Jungle Croquet was a throwback to my childhood croquet games in Texas where we always played at family reunions. I’m saying regular croquet – not anything resembling the course in the High Country of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina where Pretty and I visited last week and were fortunate to meet Dan and Patti who graciously invited us for a game on Dan’s awesome course.
I finally figured out the “Jungle” name started with a Tarzan movie that had nothing to do with croquet at all.
If only I had had the good common sense to stay in the car at one of the breathtaking walkabouts on the way back to our lodging afterwards, I could write the day was perfect. Alas, I tripped on a large tree root when we were walking to look at a river, fell onto a large brier bush, and was lucky to have three women with me who managed to lift me to a standing position. Also lucky no one captured that on a video.
shoulda had that stick before the tree tackled me
thanks to our hosts Dawne and Birthday Girl Darlene (and Gabe)
For the laughs, amazing scenery, Jungle Croquet, and the wonderful experience of family in their beloved Blue Ridge Mountains. I do love the mountains, I love the rolling hills…I love the flowers, I love the daffodils…I love the fireside when all the lights are low…
thanks to Dawne and Darlene for sharing these photos
Remember the three little kittens that lost more than their mittens but were rescued by Pretty who cannot refuse any creature in distress? They made their first appearance here in June.
Motherless, tiny, hungry, sleepy –
the kitten invasion began innocently
My allergies to cats are well documented, but these kittens were going to be temporary, Pretty assured me with one of her smiles that has always motivated me to say yes to whatever she wanted. She promised to take care of them herself without subjecting me to allergy-producing contact, and she was true to her word about their care.
She bottle-fed them for weeks, carried them with her to work in one of her storage boxes every day from where they lived in our kitchen until…
They outgrew the box. Kittens seemed to me to have multiplied because suddenly kittens were everywhere. Dashing thither and yon with reckless abandon. They were fearless. Clowns, too. They entertained me endlessly with their antics.
Neither Pretty nor I was prepared for the resistance my immune system had for the kittens, however. I took Zyrtec every morning and gradually added afternoon and evening doses of the high powered Benadryl with extra antihistamines to provide relief for the sneezing, wheezing, redder than usual itching eyes, headaches that have become unwelcome visitors this summer of 2025.
Luckily, two of the kittens were adopted to homes that passed Pretty’s ownership criteria in July. Then there was a sole survivor in our house. I named him Bennie, short for Benadryl which if I could invest in stocks, I would choose Johnson and Johnson, its manufacturer. Oh, yes, and don’t forget Kleenex which I consumed in quantities that produced shortages in my Instacart grocery stores. Out of stock. Seriously?
Our dog Charley became obsessed with Bennie in a good way – he motivated her to move around again – to leave the comfort of her best friend’s Spike’s favorite places in the living room which have been empty since his passing in March. Bennie’s playfulness has been contagious to our elderly dog who chases him from hiding place to hiding place.
Pretty fell in love with Bennie, too – who’s surprised – but the person who begged to keep him because she loved the spunky little kitten without reservations was our five year old granddaughter Ella, but sadly she suffers from allergies like mine which prevented her parents from adopting him.
The hot summer days rolled on, and Bennie remained with us.
how can I write a blog post when you are standing on my laptop?
I was beginning to think Bennie’s forever home was with Pretty and me when our upstate family rode in on a white horse to save the day. Darlene and Dawn, part of our family from Spartanburg County, convinced one of their neighbors she needed to add Bennie to her cat family. Pretty vetted their recommendation and approved Bennie’s transfer to the higher ground at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Bennie in a favorite laundry basket today
Bennie feels safe with us
“Dogs come when they are called; cats take a message and get back to you.” Mary Bly (Fun Facts About Cats)
Despite my whining about allergies, I will be heartbroken to say goodbye to Bennie who has grown on me as fast as he has developed that special personality he owns with joy and spunk. Fingers crossed his new forever home will welcome him with open arms and hearts. His temporary home will not be the same without him. Pretty, Ella, Charley and I look forward to seeing pictures of our little guy who gave us a memorable summer in 2025 ..we love you, Bennie.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
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