As Days Go by

A farmer with a big strawberry field put up a notice: "If you want strawberries, pick them yourself here, pay for those in the bucket, those you eat on the field are for free." A man arrived, took a bucket and returned from the field about an hour later with an empty bucket. So the farmer asked him why he doesn't want to buy any of his delicious strawberries. The man replied: "Yes, they are really delicious. I've been eating all I wanted." Farmer: "But what about your family, don't you think they might want some?" Reply: "Oh well, they'll come tomorrow." - The value-added tax has gone up by 200 - 300 %. the purchasing power has dropped by 25 %. If you spend most of your money on food, electricity, gas, rent, you really feel the increase on every item (between 10 - 50%) also on old stock, often still showing the previous price. Amazing how the poor make ends meet, on the other hand there are still those with plenty of money, nice houses, big cars, etc. I don't envy them, there is already a lot of that around here, even some for us, which may be the reason why we continue to have stones thrown at our house (yes, also during the holly month of Ramadan), and at cats - do they begrudge them their cats' food, or is it just what ignorant, bored and disturbed persons (of various ages) do? Yesterday I found one of my  regular guests at the cats' table lying dead on the middle of the road, bleeding from the mouth and one ear. Can't establish the cause, hit by a car, beaten by a boy, attacked by a dog? All is possible. She was a lovely yellow/white calm cat, approx. 1 year old. A kitten was hit by a car the other day, another one that an old man brought to me, skinny, eyes "sealed", lice (managed to eliminate them with "Frontline" spray), only survived a fortnight. Cats on the whole don't get old here, kittens are particular endangered (cars, children, adults, weak immune system). I found one dying kitten in front of my entrance door, hit by a car, another little one with a head injury from a stone which a stupid little boy with ignorant parents threw, kids told me the cat is dead, but I noticed it is was still breathing and I am happy to say under my care is now well and lively. One minor progress, children watching me feeding street cats asking me for cats' salami to feed these cats too. On the Internet a video of a dog who picked up food and carried it some distance to her puppies. Viewers click "like" . There is a house across the road with a garden, cats love the garden, the owners are not happy with this: "I found salami here. Attracts flies." It can't be much as it must be what the cat mummy  picked up from me, carried in her mouth across the road to feed her little ones. I am always worried watching cats crossing the road, but unfortunately I haven't got a garden. Further, I must accept that I can't save the whole world, neither all animals nor all who are poor. So much could be done if all tax payers (in particular the very rich) and all in power would be honest. Unfortunately we have too much greed, corruption, ignorance. -Like children, cats also learn by watching. When my 2 black cat ladies, Lilly and Felicitas, want to enter the sitting room, they knock at the door by hitting the key fob, Amelie and Alien started to do the same, likewise Honey walks around the house to my sitting room window and calls me when she wants to enter the house, Gloria (absolutely beautiful, great character and fantastic mum) does the same now. Parents give toys to their kids, what do cats do to provide their little ones with something to play with? They offer their tail, wag it, let the kittens catch it, they enjoy this game. Some times they  also play hide and seek with me (frequently underneath parked cars), often the mother helps me with "our" babies, another game: catch- me -if -you- can, stopping briefly to give me a better chance,  fair players, after all I can't run as fast on only 2 legs. Another advantage for 4 legs:  ball games, football as well as hand/paw balls. Pity, most of these football crazy kids aren't aware of this. Cats could be their really good companions. For training cats some times bring a live mouse to their kittens, to teach them how to catch one. I never watched this here, but in Europe I once had a tomcat, Filou, who brought me a live mouse upstairs to my first floor flat. He wanted to teach me how to catch a mouse. You know what, it worked, I managed to catch the poor frightened field mouse, pretended to eat it and secretly set it free outside in nature. This cat also knew how to open doors, including my fridge - he did it lying on his back -and took out what was mend for him anyway. From time to time Filou would punish me for "wrong behaviour", like not allowing me to stroke him when I get home  late, or emptying my book shelve because I went on a short holiday, leaving my brother to take care of him. Every cat is different with her/his own personality. I feel the loss every time one dies. Three hours ago sweet Luthuli, a black kitten of Gloria, ran out onto the street. At that moment a big delivery van arrived, before I had a chance to react, Luthuli got under one of the big wheels, a horrible sight, bloody head, bloody body twisting, rapid movements in all directions, some brain and lots of blood on the street. Eight hours before I played with the little darling. I feel like crying, his life had hardly started, such a horrible death. My nightmare here, I've seen so many die. - If you take the trouble to give names to cats, you'll find they will quickly all know their names, some even answer when I call them. I once had a cat, Mucker, whenever he was told off, would come, look you straight in the eyes and answer you back. Animals are not supposed to be able to do this. It seems to be strange to me that folks for a very long time believed animals can't think. Well, as a matter of fact, don't quite a few guys frequently act as if they can't? We have plenty of sunshine, the sea, beeches with very fine white sand, historic sites worth visiting, but not enough jobs, money, support for the poor, education for the ignorant, need laws to protect animals and people able and willing to ensure that folks abide by laws and good regulations (like those to protect the environment and people's health). The other day I viewed a fire in front of two garages, next to houses, in a residential area. Some persons where burning large pieces of wood, plastic and other rubbish. Not normal, a bit like the "wild west", also those kids riding motorbikes, usually without a number plate. In case of a fatal accident (lately a man from the neighbourhood died, the boys on the heavy motorbike were only 15 and 16 years old), will it be again: oh, they are still children, nothing one can do..... So sad, sounds like nothing can/will be changed. Let us not give up and hope for better days.