Back again!

My dish-pointing issues supposedly behind me, I'm back online and eager to contribute to Arboretum again, helping it flower and grow...

I've got lots of things in mind to talk about this a.m., but I start with two feline-related topics:

1) TIPPER -- We'll all miss her; she was a great cat. I don't say this lightly. I know plenty of people who keep surly cats about the house apparently because they've lost bets or enjoy having that element of danger. Many of them also seem to keep cats because they inflict allergic reactions on guests, providing the homeowner with a degree of solitude they wouldn't otherwise enjoy. I do think most cats are arrogant and useless.

People say that one advantage of cats is that they can be left alone for longer periods than dogs, and that's true. But it's also true of rocks and of fish, which are both cheaper to feed and create fewer messes. But I digress -- Tipper was a great cat for the reasons stated so eloquently in the obituary and benediction provided by Old Chip. She was gregarious and playful and well-adjusted, and genuinely appreciative of her humans (though she had high expectations for them.) I know that Old Chip will be a bit at sixes and sevens without his faithful primetime TV companion.

Incidentally, I don't think Tipper at all resembled the former Second Lady of the United States all that much. Old Chip and Pat acquired two female cats sometime around the Clinton inauguration, and named them Hillary and Tipper. Hillary was initially the friendly one, but succumbed early on to feline leukemia, whereupon the formerly standoffish Tipper warmed up to all of us. A few years later, mom brought home a rescued male kitten (who turned out to be a 25-pound bruiser and coward) who was dubbed "Albert," in the spirit of the established nomenclature.

2) HOCKEYTOWN TIGERS -- These cats still have plenty of life left in them. It's been a real treat to have a team to follow every night this year, and if they aren't able to advance in the playoffs, I won't feel too disappointed. Of course, you have to believe they have a chance to win -- maybe even a very good chance -- but you just don't know how they'll handle long series against strong foes.

We've been waiting so long for a credible major-league team in these parts -- I've said for over a decade that I just want a team that has a chance, something to play for in August. It would be unseemly to change our standards now. Next year, I'll have higher hopes and standards for the club, but I'm not one of those people who think you need to win a championship to have a "successful" season. I think it's about entertaining fans, and you can do that by being good and making a run at it, and if we can be in the mix every year, I'll be quite happy.

More later, perhaps on political topics.