Is tagging anything like

stroking the top of my head real hard? When Mom said I'd been tagged by a dog, I asked if it was that dog who was here this afternoon, the one they call Gretchen. The one I practiced my wildcat howl at. No, Mom said, it was another sweet doggie, with curly hair, one named Sophie. Humph. She said this Sophie had some questions I could answer if I feel like it.

1. What breed are you? American Domestic Shorthair. What does it matter? They say all cats are created equal, though I might not totally agree with that.

2. How old are you? My birth was not registered.

3. What is your full name? Maurice Cage.

4. Do you have any nicknames? Mom calls me Mo or Mose, or sometimes "kitty-kitty." I would prefer "Sir," or "Your Honor," but who can argue with his mom?

5. Where do you sleep? On the cleanest item of furniture or linen that I can find. This is usually on top of the big table, or on my mom's pillow. Maybe on the sofa, if it has a freshly washed throw or pillow to snuggle on.

6. What is your favorite thing to do? Wait for Mom to come home from the store, to see if she got it right this time--the right kind of Fancy Feast canned food, that is. Why is such a simple thing so difficult for this woman?

7. What is something unusual or interesting about you? My notched ear. When we first moved to this place, I made the mistake of allowing a dog to get close enough to wound me, and he left a permanent mark.

8. Who is your best friend? Darcy was my best friend. Him I not only tolerated but allowed to get close enough to cuddle, when he wanted to. But Darcy has gone to the West Coast or Rainbow Bridge, one of those far-off places. Mom says I'm her best pal, so that's good enough for me.

9. Did you go to obedience school . . . if so, were you "Top Dog" or did you flunk out? Not applicable. Cats don't obey, they command.

10. Can you do any tricks? I can do anything necessary, like opening doors of the kitchen cabinets; bringing birds and small animals into the house without hurting them, to show Mom; waking Mom up in the morning without scratching her face up too bad; and scaring at least one dog so that she lies down and puts her nose on her paws. At least, that's what she did today.

"Wait a minute--It's stopped hailing!"

Susan tagged me and Andy to post five songs we're embarrassed to admit that we like. I've put mine in a list (in the left column). Susan's own list is great; my favorite is "Goodbye, Earl." My first song in the list, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," isn't embarrassing except that it's a kid's song, but I couldn't leave it out, as I like it so well.

The embarrassing part about "Hello, Darlin'" is that I get tears behind my nose when he says, "Goodbye, darlin'." The others--well, just listen to them. If someone asked you, "Do you really like that song?" would you say, "Uh, HUH!" Or would you just slink away?

Nose, get back to the grindstone (shoveling out the house for the meeting on Friday).

Tagged

1. What I was doing 10 years ago: Copy editing and printing research proposals at UAB Medical Center.

2. What are five things on your to do list for today? 1) Pay some bills. 2) Move some furniture. 3) Clean some spots on the bedroom carpet. 4) Never-ending laundry. 5) Start reading one of the books in my to-be-read stack.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Corn Chex and skim milk, cheese and crackers with wine, pineapple sandwich, steamed baby carrots (I keep them in the refrigerator), tostitos and salsa.

4. Places I've lived: Leeds, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Selma, all in Alabama.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: 1) Pay the IRS what they demanded. 2) Get a facelift and a hair weave. 3) Waste a lot of money. 4) Have some work done on my house, and finish the basement. 5) Give the rest away.

What am I doing here?

Haven't sold a book in a week! Buy my books! No cholesterol! No saturated or unsaturated fat! Ab-so-lutely no calories!

I was "tagged" on Blackberry Creek:Summer (Susan's blog) to answer a bunch of questions:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Sara after my grandmother Sarah Satterfield, Joanne because my mother read it in a novel. Dr. Bobo wrote on my birth certificate: SARAH JOE ANN, and Mama marked it out and wrote Sara Joanne before it was registered.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, except when I’m trying to be very neat and careful. Then I mess it up.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2 sons living, one daughter deceased.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Corn Chex with skim milk. No sugar.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I untie them BEFORE I take them off, if they're tied.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I guess I’m strong in my arms, because I rearrange the living room furniture every month or so. As for inner strength, I’m still here and relatively sane as opposed to insane.
15. RED OR PINK? I love to wear red, it makes me feel good. But I like to look at pink.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My loved ones who have gone on to the next place.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Orange. But if I were oil paint, I'd be alizarin crimson.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Roses, tobacco, coffee, Chanel No. 5, lemons, new houses, new books, pine trees, rain.
27. HAIR COLOR? Can I say I don’t know? Nobody has ever been able to tell me. The parts that used to be a sort of gray-brown are now gray. The parts that used to be dark blond are now kind of yellow. The parts that used to be light blond are now white.
28. EYE COLOUR? Blue.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Potatoes (my own potato salad).
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary movies.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Iceman (video).
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs. When I try to kiss cheeks with somebody, my glasses always poke them in the eye.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Fire on the Waters by David Poyer.
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Rain.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Approx. 6,500 miles as the crow flies. (I had to get the atlas.)
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? My grandmother used to “read the cards,” and I picked up some of it from her. I thought it was just a lot of baloney, until one night at a party I told a couple I met that they would soon be crossing a large body of water. They laughed and said sure, they’d cross the Tennessee River going home that night. And then I asked them if they had a handicapped child and how was she doing, and they both nearly fainted. I haven’t done it since. I do occasionally have flashes of what seems like E.P. Like one year in the early ‘90s, when Alabama had won every football game they’d played and was going to play Miami for the national championship. I said, “Why, Alabama will cream Miami!” They laughed at me, until Alabama creamed Miami.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Birmingham, Alabama, in a former mining community called Hammond’s Camp.
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? I’ve dreamed of flying, but I don’t think that would be very useful. I certainly don’t want to read anybody’s mind or see through solid objects. I’d like to have my normal power of hearing back.

I'd also like to have a grandchild. Susan and Ramey both have a gorgeous, smart grandson. I have given Reed's Ma notice that the next child born in the family is going to be MY grandbaby, or my honorary grandbaby if it's not Jack's or Jed's offspring. Till then, I'll have to be content with being Jesse and Reed's Aun-tee, which is very much OK.