HONEYBUMP LEARNS THERE IS A GOD

Everyone must arrive at this quesiton sooner or later:  from where did we come?  How did we get here?  Who put us here?  Is there a God and does he work at Home Depot?

I, a handsome and well-dressed Egyption Mau arrived at the answer to this question much sooner than I'd ever expected.  And not in a way I'd ever wish to repeat.

It was a hot, humid afternoon on September 16, 2006.  A couple of my peeps and I decided to wander the neighbourhood in East Nashville around Bosco street, crusin' for chics and looking for trouble.  Or just a half-full tuna can.  I'm not picky.

We rounded the corner near a convenience store and saw a group of adult humans in the parking lot.  There were about 4 kids and 2 adults with a baby.  We couldn't see well over their car, so we inched closer, hoping to find out what all the ruckus was about.  Since my possee is notorious for being chickens, I decided that I would take a look.

What I saw next still makes me have nightmares and my skin crawl.  I saw a brown tabby that I'd seen a couple of times on the next street over from me.  The kids had him in a headlock and he was crying. 

The guys behind me wanted to do something, but we knew there was nothing we could do for him.

As we stood there helpless, we watched those kids pour gasoline on the tabbed guy, and then light a match.  I remember their laughter to this day.  Suddenly, with Tabs screeching to the top of his lungs, they tossed the lit match onto him and watched as he squirmed and cried from the pain that ensued.  It was like something from a human horror movie and I couldn't peel my eyes off those flames.  They just got higher and higher as Tabs tried to run--now on the ground.  The adults that were with the kids just stood there, laughing like the kids.  You'd think they would've had more sense than to just stand there and do nothing!  Then before Tabs could lie down in peace from his injuries, the kids produced another possum and torched him the same way they had poor Tabs.  Oh, it was horrible watching and listening:  the flames, the laughter, the crying-screaming from pain...

Suddenly before I knew it, one of the kids had turned around and spotted me near the bumper and was moving toward me.  I hissed with all my might and backed up.  The guys behind me saw what was coming before I knew it and they'd ran--good for them!  Go guys!!!   Get help!!

As I turned and ran, all I could think was, 'This can't be happening, this can't be happening!'

Before I could lay out a plan of escape, I saw a car approach me and this sweet, soft-spoken lady got out and crouched in front of me with her hand out.  She was cooing and it was so soothing.  My heart pace began to slow, and I got a waft of tuna somewhere on the air.  I looked up and she had produced a can and was cooing for me to come to her.  She just looked so nice and kind--not like those other kids and adults.  I was just so scared and alone--the guys had ran for their lives and I knew in my heart that they had made it to safety--wherever that was.

At this point I was so tired.  I was tired of hearing the screaming still on the wind, I was tired of running and tired of fearing that I would be next.  So, I went with this sweet, kind woman.  I crawled into her arms as she was still cooing to me, and she wrapped me up into a soft, warm towel.  She climbed into the back of her car while her other adult human began to drive us, and all the while she was stroking my head and saying wonderful, kind things to me, like, "It's okay sweetheart.  No one will EVER hurt you, do you hear me?  I want you to trust me.  You are so beautiful.  Be at rest--you are safe now and we will find you a wonderful home."

I liked her kind face, and soon, the effects of the tuna and soothing words began to take over and I got sleepy.  So I curled right up in that soft towel and went to sleep.  I trusted this woman and the things she told me.

We drove for what seemed like forever, and then before I knew it she was telling me that we were at, "The Cat Shoppe."  She explained that the owner, Chris, was a wonderfully kind woman who took in cats like me who needed love, kindness and a good home.  She had so many cats of her own that she couldn't keep me, but she knew that God would find me a great home.

Soon, after lots of meeting new people, talking, cooing and changing of hands, I was in my own brand new pet carrier, right in the middle of the store!  She didn't know my real name so she nick-named me "Bosco" and told me that soon I would find the right human to go home with.

The next few weeks were so awesome.  People would come into the store and shop for their own cats, and every now and then someone would walk up to my cage and speak to me, or even ask to hold me.  Those were the times I liked the most!  I was getting used to all this attention.  My box was cleaned each day, and sometimes I even got to get out of the carrier and play with some of the other kitties.  It was like a big sleepover that never ended!!

Then, it happened.  One rainy night in November, on the 13th to be exact, this weird woman walked into the shop at about 5:30.  She had blue hair, a ring in her nose, and was wearing jeans and a pair of cool Chuck Taylor tennis shoes--in black.  She walked straight to my cage and looked at me.  We stared at each other straight in the eyes.  She had beautiful eyes--they were a bright green and I felt like I could see straight into the inside of her soul when I stared at them.  They were kind and expressive, and she had the most incredible smile--like it was powered by a 1000-watt light bulb.  When she saw me, she began beaming, but then suddenly, she turned very, very sad and I saw tears run down her cheeks.  Chris had put a sign on my carrier with the name "Bosco" and a description of my turbulent history and how I had come to be a tennant here at The Cat Shoppe.   I then knew she was grieving for Tabs who hadn't made it.

She turned and said, "Chris, may I hold this one?"

I could see her face was really wet now from tears, but she continued to smile at me through the cage while she patiently waited from Chris to unlock my door.

As Chris opened the door, I walked straight to this woman's waiting arms, crawled into them and began to purr right away.  I felt immediately at home--like I was at the end of a long, tiring journey.  She began stroking my head and cooing the same things that woman in the car had said to me.  Next thing I know it, Chris is saying, "So, what do you think?"

Without hesitation, she said, "I think I'm falling in love."

Twenty minutes later after a donation was made and vet records transferred hands, I was riding to my new home in a nice, new Volvo.  She put me right up on the front seat with her, and she talked to me all the way home, telling me about Playdoh and Isabella and how she wanted a playmate for Doh since Bella was getting a little older.  Then she said something to me that I'll never forget.  She said, "I want you to enjoy your new home.  I will do everything I can to make you at home and to love you, because I believe God made you just for me and me alone.  You are my gift from God."

Getting home was a bit nerve-wracking, with all the new smells and other cats right outside the door, and I know I gave mum a hard time that night with all my crying and discontent.  But there was one thing I now knew in my heart that no one would ever take away from me.  God did create me just for this woman, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was a God, and he had rescued me from that horrible fire.

I fell asleep that night on mum's pillow, and the last thing I heard her say was, "Honeybump, I love you.  And thank you, God."