TERRE HAUTE —
I’ve never been much of a cat person, mostly because when I was younger I was allergic to their dander. Also, I considered cats to be sneaky and annoyingly independent. At the time, I preferred dogs.
When my children were small, we lived in a large, two-story home and their bedrooms were upstairs. One day after work as I was getting out of my car at home, I saw something strange going on at the side of the house. A basket, with small, furry heads bobbing around inside, was attached to a rope and was slowly moving toward one of the bedroom windows. Lo and behold, my daughters had hoisted up several kittens in the basket thinking no one would notice. Needless to say, we had to find homes for the cats. Trying to appease my unhappy family, I got them a puppy.
Many years later, shortly after Thanksgiving last to be exact, a small, starving Orange Tabby cat appeared in our yard. Her meow and growl happened simultaneously. She had obviously been mistreated. We could see her bones and she was terrified of everything and everyone. We gave her food and tried to coax her inside to no avail. If we tried to pick her up and bring her in she immediately jumped out of our hands.
It took several months, but her meow became normal and she was growing rapidly. She spent her nights and most cold days under our neighbors’ deck out of the cold, but she ate at our house and was gradually becoming our cat. Ultimately, we purchased a small doghouse and put a rug and blankets in it to keep her warm. She was home. This is where the story teller would write, “and they lived happily ever after.” But wait, there’s more …
Thinking one cat showing up unexpectedly was enough, we certainly didn’t expect or particularly want another one to come our way. However, one morning about a month ago I went to the front door to get the paper and was surprised to hear a loud MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, and then a thud against our door. Standing there looking up at me was this young, dark cat.
Obviously hungry, (aren’t they all?) I hesitated, then grabbed a bowl and fed him.
After a day or two, we called Animal Control and sent this one to the Terre Haute Humane Society. They do a great job and find homes for many animals. But we both felt guilty and feared he might suffer an early end if they had too many cats. So, after much discussion, my wife and I decided to make arrangements with the shelter to adopt this mesmerizing feline. To say he has personality is an understatement. In his own way, he verbalizes everything he wants and usually gets it. He is unbearably cute.
Thankfully, I don’t appear to be allergic these days, but ME, a cat person? My daughter, Kate, is skeptical. After hearing we adopted a second one, she said to me, “Who are you and what have you done with my dad?” MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
Opinion Columns
RONN MOTT: How I became a cat person
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RONN MOTT: Ernie Pyle
I stepped back in time last week when I visited the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana.
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RONN MOTT: Pyle museum in Dana good way to study WWII
I stepped back in time last week when I visited the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana.
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RONN MOTT: Frustration
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RONN MOTT: Rabid Republicans
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LIZ CIANCONE: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
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STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
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Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
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RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
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RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force
Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.
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RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round
Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
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MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
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Just so you know, now settled firmly into middle age, I think of “kids” as anyone in their 30s and younger. I also accept that many of my elders view me as an upstart whippersnapper, though snapping even my fingers nowadays can be a chore.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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RONN MOTT: ‘Raccoons II’
In the Algonquin Indian language, raccoon means “working with hands.” They are really cute little fellows until they injure a child, or a pet, or leave feces around where you certainly do not want it.
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RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
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RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
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MARK BENNETT: Should I stay or should I go?
Some have their Bill Clinton-era Cavalier packed (with the trunk bungee-ed shut), apartment cleaned (except for the fridge), and iPhone GPS locked onto the fastest route out of Terre Haute. Others are staying — until they find a better job, or because they’re starting a career here, or because this town feels like home. In each case, a new stage of life begins today.
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College Class of '13 gets a little extra advice
Local college grads will hear commencement speakers offer life and career advice this month. We’re offering them an extra dose here from folks who’ve found success in various vocations and regions of the nation. Many have Terre Haute roots.
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RONN MOTT: Things that go bump in the night
I live in a very old house. There are all kinds of noises that occur, especially at night, or so it seems. Aside from the various creaks and pops from old wooden floors and walls when the furnace heats up and sends warm air into the rooms, we, my wife and I, have heard other noises.
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RONN MOTT: Around the dial
At lunch the other day with Terry Tevlin (First Financial Bank), I bumped into Dale Mahurin. I hadn’t talked to Dale in a long time and inquired about his wife, Julie Henricks.
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ANDREA NEAL: Newspaper journalists still make a difference
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RONN MOTT: George Jones
I got to Nashville in the early ’70s, hired by John Patton, who had been a DJ for WBOW earlier in his career. Then, he was managing WMAK in Nashville and I was promised a top sales list and received the yellow pages (many a promise like this has happened to people in this business). I also did sports commentary for the morning man and would ultimately do a season of play-by-play and a short TV schedule for Tennessee State.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Old age is in email of the beholder
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MARK BENNETT: Spirited response to a rising river
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
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RONN MOTT: Remembering Pat Summerall
I don’t remember how I first became aware of Pat Summerall, but the first time I heard him was on a New York radio station (WCBS, I think). He was doing the sports for the morning man and exchanging some opinions about sports and such with him.
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RONN MOTT: What I don’t know
I was watching a segment on the History Channel the other night while I waited for the end of “The Big Bang Theory” and a show I had seen before. It was “Sex in History.” And the two segments I watched were about Ben Franklin and Howard Hughes.
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RONN MOTT: You, me, and the Muslim world
I don’t know how to do this. I’m a fairly intelligent human being, but the events of the past week in Boston have turned me emotionally inside out. It’s more than the people who died, it’s more than the people who were injured … some permanently,
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