There's A New Sheriff In Town!

The new sheriff was so bored. "If I have to give another littering ticket I just might move back to the city. Small towns are nice, but after the city life it's really hard to adjust. I feel like Sheriff Taylor in Mayberry. I'm only missing Barney as my deputy." He chuckled to himself as he looked through the paperwork that was on his desk. Little memos and notes from previous officers was about it. He did see a new wanted posted for a guy named K.R. No last name? Odd, but there is a lot of that going on nowadays, Cher, Ellen, Mars, Bluey and Bambi." He laughed out loud at those thoughts. "Cartoon characters, singers and talk show hosts. What a combo. He saw the mailman walking down the street. Hopefully the mail will have something a little more exciting for me than counting the minutes until the noon whistle blows," he thought as he tacked up the poster.

He decided to take the car and cruise the small town. "Never know there might be someone breaking the law. Maybe even a jaywalker." He shook his head and headed for the quiet neighborhood where Marleewood was located. He had been told about the community favorite of small children and their parents. By what he understood there were two grandmothers that used to go there a lot. There were stories told, games to be played and there were many rooms in the old place. "Probably haunted would be my luck. I'll just drive by and take another look. As he drove by the big old building he noticed a guy leaning against a tree. It seemed like he was hiding. "I think I'll park for a while and see what he's up to." About that time he saw the stranger run to the pickup that was hauling a long camper. "Hmm, I don't like the looks of that. I believe I'll pull up there and see what's going on."

He put on his biggest smile and "Hello there. What seems to be the trouble. Is everything alright?" As soon as he asked the question the elderly lady in the passenger seat started to cry and got out of the truck. He noticed that the stranger had started to walk away. "Hold on there fella. I just wanted to ask you a few questions. The man turned to look at him and immediately he recognized the man as the man on the wanted poster he had just put on his bulletin board. "Hey, stop! come back here. I want to talk to you! Oh you are a runner huh, well you are too old to run, buster. Stop!" Pleased that the guy stopped he caught up to him and said, "Okay, turn around, buddy. I've got some cuffs that have your name on them. We are going back to my office and have a visit."

Marlee called B and said, "Did Grandma Lu get arrested? What's going on? Mom said there was a cop car by their house."

Grandma B said, "Well, I can't imagine why that would be, Marlee. I'll call her and see what's going on. She has been acting strange lately. I'll call you back in a little bit."

Yvette had been calling and calling but didn't get anything but a busy signal when she called her old friend. She finally gave up and went outside to tend to her horses.

Nancy had gotten the strangest message from her friend's daughter. She said that she was worried about her mom. She had heard rumors that there was a stranger lurking by their house. Could she go over and check please?" Nancy assured her that she would. Grandma Lu lived about twenty minutes away. She had to hurry! She gathered up her purse and phone and soon was on her way. "I wonder what that old girl is up to now. She's always writing stories, maybe she got carried away. Maybe she stepped on someone's toes! Oh no. I think I know what's up. I've got to hurry!" About that time she looked in the mirror and saw lights flashing. "No! I don't have time for this. I have to help my friend."

The sheriff had changed his mind about his new home. Maybe it would be a fun place to live and work. He's arrested a man for loitering and breaking parole. Now a traffic ticket! His first since he had moved here. Things were looking up. "No, ma'am. No! Stop! Oh now you are really going to get a ticket. What's the matter with that lady? He turned on the siren and gave chase all the way to the building the townsfolk called Marleewood. It was close to Grandma Lu's house. When he arrived he couldn't believe his eyes. "I think the whole town is here. What gives? People were walking towards the front door carrying food and thermos's  with drinks. Dogs and cats were sitting with their humans. Children were crying and pulling on their mom's jeans wanting to know if Grandma Lu was going to jail. People were glaring at him like they thought whatever was the matter was all his fault. "Well, I guess I'd better see what in the world is going on here. "Whatever it is sure looks like I'm not their favorite person right now."

Aura had heard a commotion outside and jumped up to look out the window. "Wow! Penuche! Come look, she barked. That big old building down the street has all kinds of humans and dogs and cats over there. You suppose Mom would let us go over there and join the fun?"

Penuche was getting tired of Aura's puppy ways. Always wanting to play and go places. She was getting older and wanted time to reflect on her life; quiet time. "No! Leave me alone. It's my time of morning that is mine. Quit your barking. I'm tired! I just want to snuggle up to my favorite toy and rest for awhile. Now hush!"

But Aura and Penuche's mom had already noticed the cars, people, and pets starting to gather at Marleewood. "Oh it's so good to see life over there again. It's about time. I wonder what the occasion is. I hope Grandma Lu is okay. She's been acting a little off lately. I might go over there and see for myself." When she started for the door she had two sweet little dogs that were whining to go along. "Okay, since other folks are taking their pets this once you two can go along. But be nice, okay?"

Ms. Kate's Wish For An Adventure Was Coming True!

 Rowdy knew this was a mistake. He and Ms. Kate had absolutely nothing in common. She was an educated college degreed feline of the top shelf and he was nothing. Just a stray cat with no education, no family at least none that wanted him. His life was one of wondering and adventure. Hers was of a nice home, comfortable furniture. She even had a bed of her own; something he had never had. He wanted to go to Texas for warm weather. He had heard of dude ranches and horses. He made the mistake of telling Ms. Kate. When he had seen her college degree he had tried to run off without telling her, but she had stopped him. She wanted a little adventure in her life too. "This is not going to end well. I can just tell. When my whiskers start to curl I know there's trouble up ahead."

They soon reached the camper and jumped in through a small opening in the back door. Soon his thoughts were affirmed. The inside of the back of the camper sounded like the sounds of a jungle! The screaming and yowling of the two cats on the bed made his ears hurt. "Good grief. Look at this mess! Do you think I'm going to help you two? Not a chance. That's all I'd need is to get my claws caught in that net. Stop it I said. Stop it or I'm getting out of here. Now just lay still and I'll see if I can think of something to get you two out of this mess. Lay still!"

The two cats stopped their screeching and listened to Rowdy. It was so scary getting caught in the net and there was no room! Addison was caught in Grandma Lu's husband's fishing net. When Ms. Kate tried to help her she got caught too. She was terrified, but she knew that Rowdy was street smart and would try to get them out of the mess they were in. For some reason she trusted him.

At last all was quiet in the back of the camper. Rowdy jumped up on the end table by the bed. Something caught his eye. It was a book. The picture on the front of it had pictures of knots similar to the ones in the man's fishing net. "Ms. Kate, I found a book here on this table. Do you think it's about knots? There are pictures of knots similar to ones that you are caught in."

Ms. Kate, said, "I'm sorry, Rowdy, but I can't see it. You are going to have to read it to me so I can tell."

Rowdy's head fell and knew he had to tell his new friend the truth. "I can't read Ms. Kate. I have never had the privilege of going to school. You are going to have to teach me someday if we ever get out of here. But for now, I'm going to see if I can slide this thing over to you and you tell me if I'm right."

Just as Rowdy was going to slide the book over to Ms. Kate the camper started to move. "Well, I guess we are all going on an adventure for sure. I don't know if I can move that book or not, but I will try. Please try to lay as still as you can."

All of a sudden the camper stopped and things came crashing out of the cupboards above the bed. A book flew out and hit Ms. Kate on the head. There was yelling and loud voices coming from outside the bedroom. "Okay, you two. Once again lay as quietly as possible. Something bad is happening. I think the driver might be in trouble. Remember keep your claws in if possible. It will make it easier for me to get you loose. I'm going to see if I can find out what's going on. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that he was out of sight. Addison started to whimper. Ms. Kate knew she had to comfort her, but had no idea how. Then she saw it; a book of poetry and stories. "Hush, now little one. I'll read you a story if I can get myself loose from these knots. Rowdy should be back soon. Just relax and listen to me purr. It will help. She used her teeth and claws to loosen the knots. Back and forth, back and forth. It seemed like forever, but she had gotten her head out of the net. She looked Addison's situation over and knew it was going to be much more difficult to get her out of the net. She had an idea. So she started to read..."Once upon a time...

The soft mewing and purring sound relaxed Addison's fears. She moved her paws back and forth to the rhythm of Ms. Kate's purring. Her claws went back and she fell asleep. Ms. Kate blinked her yellow eyes and smiled to herself. "Well, I guess my education has helped some. Her claws have come loose from the net. All I have to do is drag it across her body and she is free. I don't have to be ashamed of being a smart cat. I am good for something, I guess."

Outside, K.R. was yelling and shouting. Rowdy watched from his perch by the window of the camper. "I wonder what that's all about. I usually don't like the looks of policemen. Sometimes they have picked me up and put me in the pound. But this guy is putting handcuffs on some guy. Way to go! Oh no that older lady is crying. What is that about?"

Grandma Lu's curious neighbors also watched out their windows as the policeman walked a tall stranger into his police car. Some of them picked up their phones to see if their friends knew what was going on. Poor Grandma Lu.

"Let's go home, Dear. I'm mortified beyond measure. K.R. has always stirred up trouble, but he's done it now. He's in his seventies, for Heaven's sake. Why can't he just leave me alone? That silver mine has been played out for years. What must the neighbors think of us? A police car stopping us right here? I just need to go to bed and hide."

But going to bed and hiding from her troubles was not going to happen for Grandma Lu at least not today. The phone was already ringing when she walked in the front door.

"Mercy, will it never end?"

The Marleewood Children Protect Grandma Lu

 The small town that Sage and Gus lived in seemed to be having more activity than usual. The neighbors were jogging and a young high school girl was watching the cats as she looked out of an old pickup truck window to have her picture taken.

Rowdy and Ms. Kate were walking at a pretty fast pace because they could see that the back door of Grandma Lu's camper was open just a crack. 

"If you are going to tag along with me you have to keep up. I won't have you slow me down so that I miss my ride in the camper. See that door? It's open a little. If we plan it just right we can get in there before they take off for their trip. I have no idea where they are going, but this time of year older humans like to go where it's warm. They might be going to Florida or Texas. Makes no difference really, but I was hoping for Texas. I'd love to live on a Dude Ranch. Come on! You have to keep up!"

Sage said, "Gus, did you see those two cats? Have you ever seen them before? Want to chase them? It might be kinda fun on a chilly spring day. Warm us up a little. Oh how I do love a good cat chase."

"Nah, I don't think so. I'd rather play with the ball. The humans are coming out pretty soon. We don't want to disappoint them. You know how they love to play ball. It makes them laugh and feel good about themselves if we bring it back to them. But we can watch until they come outside."

"There's the neighbor lady with her kids. They are doing what they call jogging. I think they noticed the cats too. Lots to look at this morning. Oh oh, that little one got away from his mom. Oops, I think he is chasing the cats. Maybe this is a good morning for people watching. They sure make life fun somedays, don't they?"

"Hey, Mom! Did you know that Grandma Lu and her husband were going camping? I didn't either. Wonder where they are going. Where did they get those cats? I thought she was allergic to cats. Are we about finished taking pictures? We did the sunflower field and this pickup. I kind of like this one to put in the year book. What do you think? Oh oh. I think those cats just got in the camper. Should we call Grandma Lu?"

                                                                             &&&

From behind the tree K.R. could not see the potential disaster inside the camper. He watched carefully as his step sister put things in the back seat of their truck. "Looks like things are about winding up. I'd better get back in the camper before I'm spotted by somebody. I hate hiding under that bed so riding along won't be bad until we stop for gas then I can spring my surprise on them, he chuckled. Yes, dear sister, you owe me a free ride to Texas and that's exactly just what you will do."

What K.R. was not counting on was children. Children that had been coming to Marleewood for years that loved and protected the elderly story teller. Two of them happened to be outside playing in the leaves. They saw two cats jump in the camper. They also saw Grandma Lu and her husband start to take off on their trip. They had to stop them! Grandma Lu would get sick! They did best what children do. They waved and they jumped and they yelled. 

However, those children didn't see the stranger that had been lurking behind one of the trees run and jump into the camper as well.

Ms. Kate Took A Leap Of Faith!

 Rowdy watched as Ms. Kate licked her fur. She pretended that she wasn't watching or even in the same room. She was something that was for sure. Rowdy couldn't imagine living a life such as Kate's. A nice warm house, always plenty of food to eat, a soft couch. Even with all that, she wasn't happy. Sure, I made my life sound exciting; traveling escapades, bright lights and fancy food. The truth is, I may have exaggerated a bit, well maybe a lot. I'm a little older than her and plenty street smart, but that was not of my own making. I wasn't wanted by my mother or the people that owned the shack where I was born. I was the smallest of the litter and not cute and chubby like my brother and sisters. Because of that I got little food and found nothing soft to sleep on. Well one time I remember well. That was almost a disaster. Oh how I remember that day. Maybe I shouldn't convince Kate to go with me. She's been kind of pampered. She is old enough to make up her own mind, but boy that was a bad day.

It seemed like I had walked forever. It was a hot day and I was so hungry and thirsty. I walked up this little hill and discovered a small house that had an open door to a porch with comfortable looking furniture. Oh how I needed some rest. So I quickly jumped up on the couch. On it was a pretty little soft pillow. Once I got comfortable and curled up to take a much needed rest this horrible squealing noise liked to have broke my ear drums. I jumped off that thing and the noise quit, but I heard a dog scratching at the door and barking his head off. I knew I had chosen a house that had a dog that did not like cats! 

I ran outside as quick as I could. Wouldn't you know it they had rose bushes with all kinds of stickers that got caught in my fur and slowed me down.  Oh and they had a fence; a really high fence. I couldn't figure out where I got in. I ran and ran as fast as I could. Finally I jumped up on top of a propane tank. There was that dog! He was watching every breath I took. I can remember that day clear as a bell. Every time I hear a high pitch sound I think of that scary dog and my heart starts beating fast.

Ms. Kate watched Rowdy and wondered what life with her would be like. "Traveling and free as a bird, but who would feed me? Would Rowdy make sure I was warm and fed? I'm a smartie; book smart that is. I proved that by going to the university and got my degree in Mewology. Talk about boring. Understanding feline behavior and all aspects of feline ancestry that contribute to that behavior. Every cat in the class was gray or like me. No one wanted to be my friend. It seemed to me a waste of my time. I wanted to make my mark on the world. After I got my degree I couldn't even get a job teaching! I know it was because of how I looked, so after doing some soul searching I decided to live on this farm. They're nice enough folks, but when they get company I just want to hide. I don't like all of the excitement of children and television! Whoever invented that thing was not thinking about cats that's for sure!

                                                                     &&&&&

Rowdy told Ms. Kate that he would stay for awhile. She knew that traveling with her would take some thought. Ms. Kate paid little attention to the stranger, but watched to see where she went.

Rowdy walked into a room with big furniture and lots of books and papers. He jumped up to inspect the chaos that interested her. She took one of her paws and moved things around. "Hmm, what is this? I had some reading lessons, but this is hard to read. It looks like some kind of letter addressed to Ms. Kate. Wow, if I'm not mistaken she has a college degree! Not only a degree, but she's a shrink! Well, that settles it. We have nothing in common, she would never like my kind of life and I sure wouldn't like hers. I think I will just skip out the back door before she misses me."

Ms. Kate stood quietly at the doorway watching Rowdy reading her diploma. "Why is that thing still laying around? It certainly no good to me nowadays." She let out a sigh with a soft mew. She knew that the possibility of seeing the world with Rowdy was soon to be something that was not to be considered.

Rowdy heard Ms. Kate mew and said, "I'm sorry, girl, but you are too high class for me. I'm rough and tough and a street smart cat that has lived on her own for years. You are educated and used to living the soft life of two meals a day and a nice soft bed of her own or the couch if you please. No. It just wouldn't work. Okay then, have a nice life. I'm off. I'm thinking to go south where the weather is warmer. Maybe someday I'll meet a cat that lives on a ranch down there. That would be the cat's meow," she chuckled. With that she jumped off the desk ran past Ms. Kate and was out the back door.

She looked around at her nice warm home and thought, "No, Rowdy! You have a traveling companion whether you like it or not. Life is too short not to take a leap of faith!" In no time she caught up with the stranger. Her heart was beating a little faster than normal and the sweat in her paws was leaving a faint trail as she started her adventure. 

The twosome were being watched by both neighborhood joggers and two very interested dogs as they made their way to Grandma Lu's camper where their adventure would soon begin.