Unhappy at all these new vibrations (Jan. 16)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
The cat has been staying in her den, probably because of the change in the weather. A big storm is on the way. And, as you know, there have been all kinds of earthquakes lately. Also, she is afraid the new high-speed train tracks will run through our house.
I don’t think they will do that, although there are times when we can hear trains going through town on their tracks, and it will sound like they might be going up the alley behind our house. If they do build the new high-speed tracks through town, or through the farmlands down the road, we’ll have even more railroad noise. She probably will pack her bag and move. She most certainly will if we start having earthquakes here.
She doesn’t care for loud noises or vibrations, either. She was very unhappy New Year’s Eve when some of the neighbors set off firecrackers. She came close to moving out of town on July 4th.
Every once in a while, I will lie down on the couch and she will jump up on my stomach. This is usually after I’ve had a big lunch, and my stomach will be going about its business, which involves activity similar to that of a concrete mixer. She starts purring and punching me with her front feet until at least some of the vibration stops, then she lies down on the stomach and immediately goes to sleep. Sometimes, I will go to sleep too, and when I do, I start to vibrate. Mrs. Doud says it’s snoring, but I think it is just purring, sort of like the cat purrs, although somewhat less artfully.
When I purr above a certain point, the cat jumps off and goes and looks out the window, at where there isn’t so much noise and vibration.
Mrs. Doud thinks the surface of the world is moving around on us, and she likely is right. I can tell you that the cat is absolutely sure of it, and isn’t one bit happy.
