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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
I'm on vacation today and my dear friend and mentor, Bill Duncan, is filling in for me. Despite being 80 some odd years old, Bill writes a weekly newspaper column and book reviews for newspapers and edits a magazine section for seniors. He moved from California to Oregon after a 30 year career as a newspaper reporter and editor in Los Angeles. And he's crazy about Hot and Sour Soup. A few years ago when Bill and wife Ada had lunch at my home, he asked for seconds, (or maybe it was thirds?) of my homemade Hot and Sour Soup.
Thanks for sharing one of your stories with us today, Bill.
If you read Suzanne's columns you know she is a cat lover. I never really owned a cat, I just inherited the care and feeding of the poor abandoned felines as my children grew up and left home, leaving their cats and dogs behind.
The shaggy dog stories we will forget--this is about cats. The funniest story about the cats in my life was actually a cat named Wazoo, one that my daughter, Margaret-Mary, left behind when she left home. Wazoo was one of those All-American cats.
One rainy Oregon day while I was a faculty member at a local college, I was up before any of the other family members, dressed in a coat and tie and ready to meet 21 students in my classroom.
As I drove out on to the rural roadway in front of my house in Roseburg, Ore., there in the middle of the roadway was sprawled the remains of Wazoo, run down by commuter traffic into the city. I knew that in just a few hours my two young sons, Jack and Jeff, would be coming to the edge of the road to catch the school bus. No way could I let them see Wazoo splattered over the roadway.
I backed up the car, came into the house changed from professor Bill attire into mud gear and rubber boots. I grabbed a plastic bag from the container, picked up a shovel from the tool shed and scraped Wazoo off the roadway, walked up the hill and dug a muddy hole to bury him.
I returned to the house, stripped off my mud gear and redressed for a classroom appearance. As I sat on the stairwell tying my shoes, Wazoo jumped in my lap.
When my heart returned to a normal rhythm I resumed my departure routine to the classroom. Even today, I have no idea whose cat I buried on my hill, but it does give one pause about the nine lives theory. Wazoo lived a long productive life thereafter and died peacefully of old age.
That was the last house cat in my family.--Bill Duncan
Bill absolutely loves to hear from readers. Ask a question (he teaches a writing course at a university in Oregon) or just say hello. He answers all of his mail. You can reach him at: semperfi@douglasfast.net
* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE REAL STORY OF AH-Q AND OTHER TALES OF CHINA by Lu Xun. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/September11Classics
AUTHORBUZZ: MOTOR CITY SHAKEDOWN by D.E. Johnson
In 1912, Detroit is a tough city--particularly for someone stuck in the middle of a mob war. The Gianolla gang wants Will Anderson's help. Motivation isn't a problem--the Gianollas have sworn to kill Will's loved ones if he doesn't help. But the Gianollas want more--a lot more--and Will can't deliver.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader Click on MOTOR CITY SHAKEDOWN to read more. Author D.E. Johnson would love to hear from you.
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