There seems to be a recurring theme with my pets.
This is going back more than 15 years, but while I was away in Europe — the trip that inspired Finders Keepers — my cat Alex get walloped by a car and needed emergency surgery. He busted his leg in four places and busted his jaw. He had a long, tough recovery (mostly while I was away), with a permanent hinge in his left arm, a slightly misaligned jaw and lost some teeth. But in the end it was like the accident never happened. He was back to his full cool cat self and lived a long, full life, including him traveling cross-country with me. Twice. He was indeed the very best.
Fast forward to the most recent weekend, and while I was away (feeling a theme here) at the NY Comic-Con to launch Finders Keepers (hmmm .. another strange link), Liz was in New Jersey with the kids and Simon, visiting her parents. Well … Simon decided that he was going to tackle a car, and seemed to underestimate the power of a 4,000 pound vehicle. The result is that he’s got a badly broken leg (uh … this is getting ridiculous), with cuts and bruises all over him and enough staples throughout his body to put Frankenstein to shame.
It’ll be a few months of recover — mostly in a cage, to protect him from himself — but the vets say he should make a full recovery.
What’s my takeaway here? Should I not travel anymore? Should I not have any Finders Keepers travel? …. Do I need to sit Simon down and explain the laws of physics to him?
“Simon … now, this is what we call a car. Cars big. Cars heavy. Cars bigger and heavier than you. Cars made of metal. Cars make Simon go all HOLYMOHTERF–KME!!!!! if they smash. ….mmm … k?”
I expect it will be a wonky stretch for us all as Liz and I pass the time by, you know, raising our kids, but before too long Simon should be outside again in full nutball mode, chasing squirrels, keeping the yard safe for us all.
Either that or I need to start drinking much earlier in the day.
