I’m still entranced by cats. Cats came into my life in a permanent way very late for me, some seven years ago. After spending over two decades living with Labs, having cats turned out to be something of a shock. Not in a bad way, but any way at all. I’ve never ever thought of myself as a “cat person,” but here they all are, here and in Gainesville and Tallahassee. My oldest daughter has two and my youngest has one, and considering getting a second as a companion for the first.

I don’t know how it turned out this way, but Lucy, the last to arrive at Casa Beebe, is my cat. She comes into my lap, sleeps next to me at night on occasion, and purrs like a motorcycle when I rub her head. From time to time she attempts to talk to me. She loves it when I pull out the laser pointer for her to chase. When she needs to visit the vets I’m the only one she will allow to take her. She even misses me when I travel, sticking close when I get back from my trips.