Introducing Mr. Paddypaws

It is with some embarrassment that I acknowledge the omission of a significant member of my household, Mr. Paddypaws, more commonly known as Paddy or Buzzbomb. Paddy started out in life as "Dante" the cat, and he is still on record under that nom de guerre at the local vet's office. However, my son told me the name was pretentious, so in the absence of any conspicuous evidence of literary genius, I succumbed to pressure and changed his name. In many ways, Paddy does suit him better, especially when he is feeling feisty. And Mr. Paddypaws gives some indication of his, ahem, impressive size. He does have a certain air of dignity and self-awareness not always found in Iowa farm cats, which is another way of saying he's smarter than hell. As you can see from the one photo, he can be faster than he looks. He is definitely not happy about my leaving for a week-long gathering in Cleveland and has been giving my suitcase a baleful eye. Food has a remarkable way of soothing his ruffled feelings, however.