My particular friend

Whoomph! and a half second later, another Whoomph!

Our motor home wobbled as the blast hit us and then hit again. We went outside on Saturday afternoon and saw the contrail in the sky over our heads. Oh, that was the Discovery Shuttle going through the sound barrier - twice - as she returned to Cape Canaveral on the east coast of Florida after doing more than five million miles chasing around the earth at 17,500 miles an hour over the past 10 days.

It was a satisfactory conclusion to a visit we were enjoying with Richard Curtis, above right, the just-retired managing editor for graphics and design with USA Today. Richard and I worked together back in the mid-seventies at the St. Petersburg Times here in Florida. Actually, we both were fired from that newspaper on the same day back in 1975.

And, coincidentally, on Thursday evening of this week the guy who fired me was the honored guest of a Public Television business journal. So here we were, Richard and I, visiting together in the balmy Florida air.

Richard had just completed a week-long workshop to train journalism trainers at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg.

Both of us went on to bigger and better things after St. Pete. So neither of us harbor any resentment or angst about that awful day 34 years ago when he was called into the managing editor's office while I was summoned to the executive editor's office.

Without any warning, each of us was told it was over for us. We had been running the newsfeatures department at the St. Pete Times, doing some pretty amazing journalism for the time, particularly in writing about consumer affairs. The paper's coverage had recently been lauded by Time Magazine, being held up as an example of community journalism that looked out for the reader's interests.

But our reporting was so aggressive that we had exposed some local advertisers for their shady bait and switch selling techniques. As a result, the newspaper could point to lost revenue as a result of the stories.

Neither Richard nor I had received any warning that we were perhaps too aggressive. So each of us was rocked when we were told it was time for us to empty our desks and leave that very afternoon.

I returned to my desk, shaken, and saw Richard coming out of the managing editor's office. I assumed that he had been called in to be promoted to be the newsfeatures editor, as my replacement. I congratulated him on his promotion. He looked as me as if I were insane. "I was just fired as well," he said.

We had a party that night, with all the staff. And then we set about redesigning our lives.

Richard told me he had had dinner last Sunday with the then-managing editor of the newspaper, Robert Haiman. He actually had the good grace to apologize to Richard for the firing. He said it was one the great mistakes of his professional life. I'm still awaiting the apology to me.

As Richard said, though, it was the best thing that happened to him for it eventually took him to USA Today before it was even born. He was in at the founding of the paper and has left a substantial mark on American journalism.

Cat Connections

We have a motor homing friend who alerted us to the story of Sammy the cat that lives in a post office in Alabama.

"This month while watching CNN News on TV, we saw a story about a cat named Sammy who lives in Notasulga, Alabama.  He resides at the U.S. Post Office and takes comfort on a sunlit window shelf inside the post office.  He is greeted each day by many people who have come to love the postal mascot.  

"One day a grumpy customer reported the furry vagrant as not belonging in the post office because he did no business there.  The powers that be acted swiftly and had poor Sammy evicted with no notice. But one of the town’s residents found a loophole and purchased a P.O. Box in Sammy’s name, thus Sammy had a right to be in the post office because he had Box # 173 and can now legally receive mail.  And mail he did receive!!! 

 "One of the residents helped Sammy read the hundreds of letters sent from all over America.  There were kitty gifts, food, toys and yes, even money.  Sammy decided to donate the money to the local animal shelter to help his comrades get their three squares and a bed.  With his new found popularity, Sammy now lives in the lap of luxury, no longer homeless. The locals feel that his next project may be to run for public office.  The lesson here…………….mess with a cat, get the claws!!   Care to send Sammy a note?  His address is:                   

Sammy the Cat

U.S. Post Office

Box 173

Notasulga, Alabama"

So that's what Chai did. Her lack of opposable thumbs is no impediment but I did have to do the typing, mostly because her spelling is just beyond awful. Here's what she sent to Sammy:

"Hey, guy, I'm quite impressed with how you have manipulated the humans in your little town. Seems to me you are an inspiration to all of us smarter cats and I plan to follow in your footprints.

"Allow me to tell you something of my own exploits. I am six years old, according to the human calendar. I'm a trim eight pounds, and I pretty well rule the roost at my home. I also have the unique distinction among all the cats I know of having traveled completely around the world. I left the U.S. in August 2003 from Newark Airport. I flew with the people who like to be known as master and mistress to Seattle, then on to Taiwan. The people in the airport there spoke no English and they were surprised when the mistress refused to allow them to X-ray her red carrying bag because I was inside it. They thought she was saying "Camera" when they asked what was inside. It dawned on them she was carrying a cat when she said "Meow, Meow." So they all crowded around to pet me and then passed me through.

"When I came into Phnom Penh in Cambodia the people at the Immigration counter didn't even know I was there. I just sat in my red bag and didn't make a sound. A year later, after teaching Cambodian people how to play with cats (I had heard the master say the local people eat cats), I left and flew to Thailand where I was very close to the spiritual home of all Siamese Cats. This country felt different to me, mostly because they revere things like cats and kings. Anyway, I flew to Germany, then to Spain before returning to Germany and then back to the U.S. So, you can see, I have seen much more than the inside of a post office. Actually, I have never seen the inside of a post office. So that may be something I'll see if the handlers can show me before we leave Florida.

"Enjoy your life, Sammy. If we drive through Notasulga, Alabama, we'll definitely stop by and maybe buy you a stamp so you can send out a letter.

"Thanks for keeping life interesting. Chai."