I received a wonderful letter from my Grandma the other day. There is something special about a handwritten letter on flowery stationary. It felt like a warm hug from one of my favorite people. Below is an excerpt:
"You may not remember about my regard for cats. They have never been a favorite. At every opportunity I have thrown stones at them or scared them away by some other method, until now there is only one which insists that around this house is definitely the choicest place in town.
In spite of the occasional rock pitched in his/her direction, no food and no other signs of welcome, he/she has refused to abandon the area. Even if I am only watching him/her from the picture window in the kitchen, if he/she sees me, he/she looks straight at me and meows as if to say, 'Well, have you changed our mind about me yet?'
After watching this creature for a couple of years I have come to the conclusion that he/she is really sort of cute. Entertaining that thought was a big mistake. Seeing the poor thing shivering from cold or bedraggled by rain, has warmed the cockles of my hard heart. The heart-softening began by giving it a name and on occasion talking to it. It is a pretty soft gray and has a crooked tail. I should have named it Ziggy or something like that. But no, it was just referred to as 'Gray'.
As time went by I began to feel that is should have a more sophisticated name, since having been so persistent. So I have changed the name to 'Grigio'. Isn't that classy? Well not as much as you might think because it means gray in Italian.
The next step is putting out a little food, only table scraps, no boughten food absolutely!
Even old people can change and that is good."
