1a) Six-pack

Hi everybody!

That has got to be the weakest marathon ever. I said I'd do it in 24 hours, it has been over a week. Picture me as Tiny Tim, weakly crutching over the finish line long after the cameras and winners have gone home to bed. The few remaining spectators let out a big cheer and hoist Timmy on their shoulders. The crowning glory- a special purple ribbon marked 'Participant.'

With only one post left in my self-made mission, I'm going to cover six topics. I will try to practice word economy so you can get back to your favorite websites.

a) Didier has been gone since Sunday morning. A stalwart indoor-outdoor cat, we weren't too worried at first. Our big fear- Boston temperatures cold enough to re-freeze the glaciers. I love popsicles as much as the next guy, but not when they're made of cat.

As much as we've had our disagreements, I've found myself really shaken by Didier's disappearance. In these turbulent times, he was such a constant, normal part of my life that his absence really affected me. I never liked my crusty old third-grade teacher but if she had gotten smashed while playing in traffic, I would've been sad in the pants.

Anyway, we put up a Craigslist ad, a picture on the Somerville Animal Control website, posters throughout the neighborhood, the whole nine yards. Things weren't looking good though, and last night I slipped up and talked about Didier in the past tense.

Then this morning as I was sipping my coffee outside, Didier came running up out of nowhere! His collar was gone and he seemed a bit freaked out, but otherwise he was the same hissing old crank-pot we hate to love. Joanna said that Didier came home because he saw the posters. She also said he smells like another woman! I will now call him man-whore.

p.s. If you read the Craigslist ad, you'll see Didier has a microchip implanted in him for tracking. Sooooo...