The Bags

 I can always count on Senor to be ready to go. His bag is always packed. Usually it slides under the bed.

When we begin to clean the car, which is the first step in the going process, Cookies sits calmly and watches. After about ten minutes he eases into combat mode and sneaks into the brush of the asparagus fern to peer out as the toll booth receipts and the bank receipts from the previous trip come out and go into the garbage. Empty chip bags make him wild and he hunkers down to the ground and slinks his way through the ferns to the elephant ears. Candy wrappers and the empty coke bottles and coffee cups cause him to rush out of the jungle and hide behind the wood under the portal. He can see us but we can't see him. The hose snakes out and he runs to the stable to watch as the windshield gets cleaned. Back to the other end of the car by way of the rock pile and he is behind the fig where he can see the tools under inspection. As the glove compartment door opens he makes a quick roll to his left and he is under the jasmine, taking a moment to swat at a petal as it floats overhead, but then he is on all star alert as the hose finds its way to the back of the dusty car. A speck on the tire is checked and Cookies flies back into the asparagus brush only to be momentarily distracted by a hummingbird.

He knows the routine, he is well aware of the next step.

THE BAGS

 He does not like what that represents........... late nights out in the dark, alone................omg, was that a bat.............things that go bump in the night, that frog is bigger than me............... maybe the neighbor will feed me, maybe not...............is that thunder or the kids coming down the street on those damned skateboards again.................not again! those ants stole my cricket...................where can I hide today when Humberto comes............can't anybody get that donkey to shut up, I am trying to sleep over here................ I have not slept in a week......I really need a good nights sleep here.............. okay they will be back today and I can go inside and get a good rest...............they have left me here by myself for the rest of my life.

 As I said the bag usually stays under the bed but Senor left it out from our last trip and Cookies anticipated that we were taking another trip.

You can't walk to close to him or he will reach out and snag you with his paw.

That is what he generally does when we return, swipes at us, grabs a wrist and bites, sleeps on top of Senor's head, claws his foot while he is sleeping, wants to be hand fed, whines, wants to be rubbed, whines, wants to be brushed, whines. He is a very angry cat whenever we return home.

He does everything within his capabilities of letting us know he has not appreciated his alone time.

 

I am always ready to go, but I need time to pack. I'm a girl. I like to be organized. I like to take a lot of stuff.

shoes, shoes, shoes in the blue fish bag

clothes, clothes, clothes in the purple bag

Dictionary, trip information, reading material, glasses in the green bag

 All important documents in the red bag

cameras, batteries, notepads, colored pencils, aqua pencils, assorted makers and papers in the turtle bag.

And I'm not even showing you the bag I take all my personal toiletries in.
I keep all of my bags in the closet. When I am ready to pack, I pull them out and the sheer number of them makes the cat's head spin.



Okay, I am ready to go.

Don't you touch this bag..............................