ANOTHER TOM

My daughter rescued a black Persian soon after we moved to Oklahoma.  In a new neighborhood people used to be transferred to other cities in their jobs leaving their pets behind to fend for themselves.  There is a natural creek behind our house.  Animals and humankind make use of it to this day.  The exploring Persian came into the yard when No. 1 daughter came home from school.  She fed him, and he immediately adopted her.  She had to leave her former cat, Shade, in the animal shelter, so she was wide open for a new cat. 


Her dad named the cat, Tom, using no imagination, and he was the second Tom in my life, too.  Tom was a very real contributor to family life.  The area being right next to open country, he took advantage of the rodents who roamed the fields.  He came and went through a partially opened garage door at night, and by morning left at the back door toward the kitchen his best gifts of big, fat mice from the fields.  He also announced his approach as would a hunter with a trumpet -- substituting loud m'rows.  Tom lived several years lovingly cared for by daughter, who combed his long fur to keep him looking his best.  He was most friendly and missed, until he was replace with a mixed color female my son named Grindl after a story character.