Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

On Saturday, a friend of ours, The Punster, was in town, so a group of us got together to spend some time with him. We gathered at the house of The Cheshire Cat and The Paper and hung out while everybody arrived and while we waited for a cheesecake to finish cooking in the oven. The Paper, who is an excellent cook, was trying out a new recipe.

While we were waiting for the others to arrive, The Punster got us talking about various topics. He was in a good mood and very animated.

The first topic was pet stories. He shared quite a few amusing ones about various cats he's had, including one I'll share.

The Punster's family had two cats: a smart cat and a not so smart cat. The smart cat enjoyed pretending that it was asleep while lying next to food put out in the back yard for squirrels. When a squirrel got close enough, thinking it was safe, the cat would jump up and attack them.

One day, the smart cat was playing its game, pretending to sleep, and a squirrel was gradually sneaking closer, tempted by the food. Just then, the not so smart cat comes running up and chases the squirrel around the corner of the house. When they reappear, the squirrel is chasing the cat, and manages to chase it up a tree. The squirrel sits at the bottom of the tree, barking at it.

The smart cat comes to the rescue, scaring away the squirrel. When the not so smart cat emerges from the tree, the smart cat swats him on the head for ruining the plan.

The Punster also got us talking about our earliest memories. I said I wasn't sure it was my earliest, but I could remember standing over my brother's crib and holding his hand. I was 2 at the time. I also shared my first ever nightmare: being eaten alive by ducks.

Not surprisingly, The Punster's earliest memory involved a cat. He remembers being less than a year old and his parents bringing home a cat. It was in a box, and it was mewing. He was fascinated by the mewing box.

Some other shared their memories. The Gryphon said his earliest memory was getting poked next to his eye painfully by a broken plastic hanger wielded by another child in a sandbox. Someone else remembered being treated for a painful accident. Agent Smith remembered throwing a rock at a neighbor's door the day his family was moving away.

We also got into a discussion about whether personalities are set by the time of age 5. Based on some of the stories people were sharing, it seems like they are.

When everyone had gathered, we all split into cars and drove to a nearby Chinese buffet, the same one we'd gone to on New Year's Day. It was much more crowded this time, but the food was just as good, and they had sushi. I didn't have any dessert, anticipating the cheesecake.

Afterwards, we returned to the house to hang out. The original plan had been to play a role-playing game designed by The Cheshire Cat after dinner, but we all got involved in conversations and time slipped by. Then The Paper shared out the cheesecake, and before we knew it, the hour was too late to start. This was fine with me, because The Gryphon and I would probably have left when the game started.

The Gryphon started drifting off on the couch. I teased that he was in standby mode, resting his brain. He often gets very mellow on the weekends.

We got involved in many interesting conversations. Agent Smith, The Dormouse and I got into a stream-of-conscious conversation inspired by the term "hot magma." We were improvising how different television networks would deal with the subject: "Hot Lava Action Night on TNT" and Sponge Lava Square Mantle on the Cartoon Network.

By about 11 p.m., people started gathering their coats and saying their good-byes. The Gryphon and I realized it had been awhile and we ought to get back to my dog, Una. So we said our good-byes, too. It had been a pleasant evening with friends.

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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