A Cautionary Tail
Good news - Molly the Cat has been liberated.
Even if you don't live in New York, you might have actually heard this story on the news. All last week, there were camera crews from all over the world camped out in front of Myers of Keswick (free plug #7,838,353), a store in the west Village that sells British specialty foods, such as crisps (potato chips) and curds (potato chips) and whey (potato chips). The store also sells a variety of prepared foods made from the non-vital organs of pigs and sheep (try the Spleen & Appendix Pie, a pub favorite).
It seems that Molly, a mouser, somehow got caught in the wall of the building and couldn't find her way out.
Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm what you might generously refer to as "a cat person," or less generously as a "future crazy cat lady." Nonetheless, one word does spring to mind, and that is: DARWINISM. (Clearly, they need to go back to teaching it the schools.) The cat managed to get into the wall, when she gets hungry enough, she'll find her way out. Or not.
Instead, a team mounted a Jessica Lynch-style search and rescue operation to bring Molly to safety. An anonymous donor volunteered to underwrite the cost of getting Molly out of the well (I mean, the wall). I'm really glad she's okay, even if she probably would have been even without the intervention of the Navy Seals. Kind of like Jessica Lynch.
However, the thing that amazes me the most is that this story made the papers in other countries, including France and Japan. I've heard of fluff news, but Fluffy news? Come on.
Yes, it just goes to show that wherever people are from, whatever their religion or culture, the press will go to great lenghts to avoid reporting real news. But still. Don't they have cats stuck in walls in Tokyo and Paris?
It reminded me of the fake news conference that was held recently where a woman (who the government perhaps had some serious dirt on) got up and asked, "Mr. President, why doesn't the evil liberal media [sic] ever report anything good that's happening in Iraq?"
Don't they have any cats stuck in walls in Tikrit? Maybe they should look into that.
In other parts of the country, cats get stuck in trees or on roofs or whatever all the time, but in general, it does not garnish the attention of the international press. If it did, they would have to start a special wire service that reported nothing else. The Cats Stuck in High/Small Places (CSHSP) Press. Virtually all news headlines would be: "Cat on a roof in Des Moines - News at 11. "
Before becoming an international cautionary tail (ugh ... sorry) Molly's primary raison d'etre was to catch the mice that scamper about the store, sort of a disgusting thought considering they make sausages on the premises, but nevermind. I'm betting that Molly was named after the character from Ulysses, a novel that famously begins, Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beast and fowl.
Although I don't think this was a PR stunt, if by chance I ever open up a British specialty foods shop, the marketing plan will be very succinct: Dig well. Throw in cat. Call Newsweek.
Amazingly, Molly isn't the first New York cat that managed to make the morning news by getting herself wedged into a crevice, as this article explains.
I guess P. Diddy and Sting can call off their benefit song, "Sending our love into the tight crevice," which they simultaneously realized could be misinterpreted in very rude ways.
Even if you don't live in New York, you might have actually heard this story on the news. All last week, there were camera crews from all over the world camped out in front of Myers of Keswick (free plug #7,838,353), a store in the west Village that sells British specialty foods, such as crisps (potato chips) and curds (potato chips) and whey (potato chips). The store also sells a variety of prepared foods made from the non-vital organs of pigs and sheep (try the Spleen & Appendix Pie, a pub favorite).
It seems that Molly, a mouser, somehow got caught in the wall of the building and couldn't find her way out.
Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm what you might generously refer to as "a cat person," or less generously as a "future crazy cat lady." Nonetheless, one word does spring to mind, and that is: DARWINISM. (Clearly, they need to go back to teaching it the schools.) The cat managed to get into the wall, when she gets hungry enough, she'll find her way out. Or not.
Instead, a team mounted a Jessica Lynch-style search and rescue operation to bring Molly to safety. An anonymous donor volunteered to underwrite the cost of getting Molly out of the well (I mean, the wall). I'm really glad she's okay, even if she probably would have been even without the intervention of the Navy Seals. Kind of like Jessica Lynch.
However, the thing that amazes me the most is that this story made the papers in other countries, including France and Japan. I've heard of fluff news, but Fluffy news? Come on.
Yes, it just goes to show that wherever people are from, whatever their religion or culture, the press will go to great lenghts to avoid reporting real news. But still. Don't they have cats stuck in walls in Tokyo and Paris?
It reminded me of the fake news conference that was held recently where a woman (who the government perhaps had some serious dirt on) got up and asked, "Mr. President, why doesn't the evil liberal media [sic] ever report anything good that's happening in Iraq?"
Don't they have any cats stuck in walls in Tikrit? Maybe they should look into that.
In other parts of the country, cats get stuck in trees or on roofs or whatever all the time, but in general, it does not garnish the attention of the international press. If it did, they would have to start a special wire service that reported nothing else. The Cats Stuck in High/Small Places (CSHSP) Press. Virtually all news headlines would be: "Cat on a roof in Des Moines - News at 11. "
Before becoming an international cautionary tail (ugh ... sorry) Molly's primary raison d'etre was to catch the mice that scamper about the store, sort of a disgusting thought considering they make sausages on the premises, but nevermind. I'm betting that Molly was named after the character from Ulysses, a novel that famously begins, Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beast and fowl.
Although I don't think this was a PR stunt, if by chance I ever open up a British specialty foods shop, the marketing plan will be very succinct: Dig well. Throw in cat. Call Newsweek.
Amazingly, Molly isn't the first New York cat that managed to make the morning news by getting herself wedged into a crevice, as this article explains.
I guess P. Diddy and Sting can call off their benefit song, "Sending our love into the tight crevice," which they simultaneously realized could be misinterpreted in very rude ways.
posted by Marguerite at 7:58 AM
4 Comments:
yes, but did you read up to page 117 in Ulysses? I DID. so there. i'm not sure anyone's ever read past page 128, so I feel pretty good about that. well, maybe whoever made this did. little animations for every chapter of U. so you don't have to bother wasting your whole lifetime reading it: http://www.bway.net/~hunger/ulysses.html
also, people are interested in the cat because the cat is a metaphor. we're all trapped in a dark crevase in the wall between Myers of Keswick and the building next door to it, if you think about it.
That is pretty weird it made the national news and was such a big deal. It's weird what people grasp on to. Freaks!
And you are so right about the woman at work. It's so funny, when we talk about her we always refer to her as the marytr and wonder what she's so busy with that she can't get it done during normal business hours. She's a freak too.
"Darwinism" indeed. I had the priviledge of interviewing Molly the cat after she'd taken a few days to recuperate and though I'm legally bound to refrain from quotations, let's just say who wouldn't take another stint in a wall for a plateful of gourmet New York grade A lean pork and fresh sardines in olive oil? I'd like to publicly invite any aspiring mousers to head on over to Myers of Keswick, interviews will be held at 3:00 p.m. You heard it here first.
Thank goodness we have the media to alert us to these episodes.
I'm betting that Molly will definitely be living the good life from now on!
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