With big storms in the afternoon and early evening yesterday, the electricity in my house went on and off so there was no computer for me! Expect my trip to The Meezers to be posted today sometime in the afternoon. I apologize for the delay!
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Electricity!
Hello feline friends and human pets,
With big storms in the afternoon and early evening yesterday, the electricity in my house went on and off so there was no computer for me! Expect my trip to The Meezers to be posted today sometime in the afternoon. I apologize for the delay!
With big storms in the afternoon and early evening yesterday, the electricity in my house went on and off so there was no computer for me! Expect my trip to The Meezers to be posted today sometime in the afternoon. I apologize for the delay!
Friday, June 16, 2006
I'm coming to smell the lilacs!
Dear feline friends and human pets,
I recently received a package in the mail, and needless to say, I was very shocked. It came in a huge white box with the neatest print on the top, and I couldn't figure out who would send me, of all felines, a gift!
I recently received a package in the mail, and needless to say, I was very shocked. It came in a huge white box with the neatest print on the top, and I couldn't figure out who would send me, of all felines, a gift!
When I opened it up, I discovered there were all sorts of wonderful things inside: stinky ham goodness, a lilac candle, a hangable lilac, catnip meeces, and feather-tailed meeces! (There was also purple bubble wrap which I gave to Isis since she really could pop those tiny circles for hours on end.)
Inside there was a note for my human pet, and there was my postcard. I took my postcard out and read it:
Front
Rochester, New York
Back
Hi Zeus,
Please come visit us in Rochester, NY. We will have lots of fun. Oh! Our mommy works in the tall building on the right in the picture.
Sammy, Miles, and Trixie
Tomorrow, I get to meet The Meezers! I am so excited! I have never been to Rochester, New York, but my human pet's dad and one of her brothers works in Binghamton so maybe I can stop by to see them too. I also hear there's some big water around there, but no one will tell me definitely how big or what kind of water. Hmm...
However, I'm too tired right now for travel. Those meeces just got me too excited. Maybe a nap now and then tomorrow, I'll be ready to go!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The Amazing Zeus: Gorgeous Gingers Take On Psychics and Wax
Good day to you, feline friends and human pets!
I actually had to start my journey in the evening in order to arrive on-time for my visit with Fat Eric. Phil picked me up very late in the evening, and if you know what the word "tension" means then you can only guess as to what happened at The House.
You see, the human pet was at the dining room table studying when she heard a knock at the door. I, having memorized the sounds of Phil Keoghan's distinctive footsteps, knew it was him so I readily went to the door. The human pet, however, just said, "C'mon in," without so much as looking up.
"Being studious tonight, are we, Marina?"
I turned to see my human pet holding her glass of Diet Coke to her lips while white spread throughout her face. I thought she had become a statue, but she didn't do anything for the longest time. After what seemed like forever, she said, "I know this Steelers shirt and purple track shorts don't match, and I'm sorry."
"Umm, I don't care, Marina. I'm just here to pick up Zeus. We'll be out of your way in no time," said Phil. Phil and I exchanged a knowing look concerning my human pet: she's slightly "off" in terms of her behavior when he's around.
Phil took me to the airport, but I sure do wish now that he had stayed with me for the extremely long flight! Traveling in an airplane in the dark can be very scary, especially if you have never done it. I know because it was my first time! Looking out the window and seeing nothing but blackness underneath you can be extremely disconcerting.
When I landed, the scene was nothing but hustle and bustle! It was amazing to me to find many similarities to America, but there were also some interesting differences. English homo sapiens do not speak the same way as Mericky humans do. They have different words and sayings that I did not know so I had to pick up NTC's Super-Mini British Slang Dictionary. I must say that was very helpful!
For example, I was looking for a taxi. I kept meowing, "Taxi! Taxi!" but not one cab pulled over. I scanned through my new book, and lo and behold, there was a completely different way of asking for a taxi! With my new information, I held my paw and said loudly, "Joe Baxi! Joe Baxi!" and surprisingly, for once, I managed to get a taxi all on my own! Take that, production crew!
I managed to get the taxi or 'Joe Baxi' to drop me off at Liverpool Street Station just as Fat Eric had directed me. Once on my ride, being in a train was simply breathtaking! I kept trying to turn my head to see what was to my left but then it was gone by the time I got to my right. Everything just moves so quickly! It's very different than a car or airplane to be certain.
When it was time for my stop, I got off and looked around, but it didn't take me long to know which house was Fat Eric's. After all, I knew his human pet had terrific gardening skills so I looked for the most English of English gardens. I spotted it in no time flat!
I walked up to the house, knocked with a few headbutts, and sure enough, a nice lady met me at the door with shouting:
"Blimey! It's Zeus!" She turned her head away from the door towards the inside. "Fat Eric! It's your friend, Zeus! Come quick so the two of you can chin wag before that Phil bloke comes along."
I meowed, purred, and rubbed along the human lady pet's legs to let her know how grateful I was for having me over, but I still couldn't help wondering what I was supposed to be doing with Fat Eric when we met. Chin wag? Phil is broke? Blimey? What does it all mean?
"Yeh ol' septic kitty, you!"
Now I'm a septic tank? Is he saying I stink? Goodness!
I turned to see Fat Eric chuckling at my expressions. I thought this was where I was supposed to wag my chin at him in a form of English standard greeting so I wagged with all my might back and forth while the girthy tabby shook with howls of laughter.
"Oh Zeus, don't be daft! She means we're going to talk! What do you Mericky kitties say? 'Chit-chat'?"
"Oh!" And with red blushing through my cheeks, I stopped shaking my chin back and forth like a fool. "So you're not saying then that I'm a stinky kitty?"
"Crikey, no! That's just some Cockney rhyming slang for Mericky peoples."
"That's a relief!" I replied with a sigh.
There was a rap at the door, and we both turned our heads in the sound's direction.
"That Phil is a prompt lad. He's all business, he is," said Eric.
Eric's human lady pet answered the door, and somehow, Phil had managed to make it across the seas without me! I was shocked!
"Fat Eric. Zeus. You have 165 pounds for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
"Excuse me, Phil?" I piped up quietly.
Phil raised one eyebrow inquisitvely, and his tone was completely host-like: "Yes Zeus?"
"I don't really think Fat Eric nor myself appreciate your implication of our weighing 165 lbs. We don't really weigh that much together, and even if we did, it's not polite to point that out to people or felines."
Phil almost smiled as he said, "Zeus, they use pounds in England. It's their currency. They don't use dollars."
"Nice try, Phil," I said.
"No really, he's spot-on, Zeus," stated Eric.
"Goodness," I muttered as I lowered my head.
Phil left soon after, and Eric and I opened our clue together:
Make your way to Piccadilly Circus. There you will find your next clue.
"Why is he going to send us there? I thought you said there's no clowns!" I said.
"Well, I think he knows it might be a challenge for us to find the clue. It's pretty busy there," replied Eric.
We actually decided we would go back to pick up the train and head back to the Liverpool Street Station. Once we got off there, we hopped onto the roof of a double-decker bus, and it is here that I might add it was a bit more difficult for us to get to the top due to not one, but two floors! I really thought I had seen it all, but apparently, I hadn't! And do you know they actually have people on the second floor? I don't know how humans come up with these things!
When we arrived at Piccadilly Circus, I understood what Eric had been saying. The
whole place was overflowing with activity! Sights, sounds, movement! It was completely overwhelming at first, but we looked for the clue with a sheer tenacity that was unmatched. However, I must admit that I was a bit in awe of the bronze statue of an archer in the center of the intersection. Eric told me the statue's name was Eros, and I thought that was a very strange name indeed.
We found the clue (Not surprisingly, we had been walking around it, but so many humans were in our way!), but when we went to open it, I heard this a strange man's voice say,
"Are you Zeus by chance?"
I turned around and saw this older gentleman looking down at me with the most curious expression on his face.
"You must be Zeus."
I knew he was saying something, but his lips weren't moving so I was a bit confused. I played along and thought back, "Do you have something to say to me?"
"Your weblog will be very popular. When I stepped into your atmosphere, I could tell immediately as you're surrounded by positive energy."
My atmosphere? Strong positive energy? I'd heard that somewhere before...with the human pet...hmmm...
"Oh my goodness! Eric! It's Derek Acorah! My human pet is going to be SO JEALOUS!" I shouted.
"Luvvly-jubbly!" exclaimed Eric.
Before I could get my next question out, Derek said, "Of course, Zeus. You can have a picture with me. You can even have your friend, Eric, in it too."
I hadn't even asked, and he knew what I was thinking!
"How did you know I wanted a picture?" I asked curiously.
"Sam told me," he replied. Eric and I couldn't figure out who this Sam guy was because it was just the three of us talking, but we let it slide.
After taking a picture with Derek, Eric and I decided to read our next clue:
Make your way to Big Ben. Once there, search for your next clue.
"Is this some person we have to meet?" I asked Eric.
"Oh goodness no! That's the most famous Clock Tower in all of London, but really, Big Ben is the name of the bell inside of the Clock Tower and not the Clock Tower itself. Not too many Merickans know that. C'mon! I know where it is," answered Eric.
I followed Eric as we made our way to what he called the tube. I hadn't known there were trains that went underground and connected parts of the city together. Eric even told me that here in America we call them subways. It was really pretty cool.
We got off at Westminster, and there in front of us, was the amazing sight of Big Ben...or I suppose the Clock Tower with Big Ben. It was pretty remarkable. I'm sure other people might think it is just a clock, but I think it's pretty neat to see what homo sapiens can do with their time when they're not sleeping or eating.
We found the clue shortly thereafter. (To me, it seemed they were rather conveniently placed!) It said:
Make your way to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London.
"Have you ever been there, Eric?" I asked.
"Not at all. Have you ever been to something that sounds like that in Mericky?" asked Eric.
I started to say, "No, but I did go to that haunted house with Oreo..."
"You don't think it will be like that, do you?!" Eric seemed very frightened suddenly.
"It's wax. That's from candles. Maybe it's just some fancy schmancy candle museum. How bad can it be?" I said.
We went back to the tube and this time, we got off at the Baker Street underground station. We walked for a little bit along Marylebone Road, and there it was: The museum in all of its glory. When Eric and I walked inside, we both were shocked as there were no candles in there as we had anticipated. There were homo sapiens standing there that looked like real homo sapiens, but they were actually...and you're not going to believe this...made of wax! It was completely bizarre!
"I think the Queen is lookin` at me!" said Eric as he stared at statues of the Royal Family.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say it was her," I said. The eyes on these fake homo sapiens really creeped me out!
"Maybe we should bow just in case it is her. You know...just to be on the safe side and all," said Eric.
I agreed. We both bowed down to the Royal Family just in case it turned out later it was them. I didn't want to be accused of not adhering to traditions in a foreign country!
"I don't know about you, but this is really weird," I said.
Eric nodded. "I think it's time we go home. It's been a long day, don't you think?"
I did. We hobbled our tired paws back to Baker Station and rode the tube back to Liverpool Street Station. Though we were exhausted, we walked slowly up to Eric's house where his lovely human lady pet was waiting:
"I was wondering when you boys would be back. It's time to take Zeus to the airport. He has a very long ride back to Mericky, you know!"
Ah, I shall miss London. It was thrilling to be in another country filled with strange sights and sounds with lots of exciting things to do. Thank you so much Fat Eric for letting me come visit with you, and thank you to your human lady pet for being such a great sport! I hope sometime you can come visit me in Houston, Texas, but I think you will need to shave first before you get here. It's just too hot!
I actually had to start my journey in the evening in order to arrive on-time for my visit with Fat Eric. Phil picked me up very late in the evening, and if you know what the word "tension" means then you can only guess as to what happened at The House.
You see, the human pet was at the dining room table studying when she heard a knock at the door. I, having memorized the sounds of Phil Keoghan's distinctive footsteps, knew it was him so I readily went to the door. The human pet, however, just said, "C'mon in," without so much as looking up.
"Being studious tonight, are we, Marina?"
I turned to see my human pet holding her glass of Diet Coke to her lips while white spread throughout her face. I thought she had become a statue, but she didn't do anything for the longest time. After what seemed like forever, she said, "I know this Steelers shirt and purple track shorts don't match, and I'm sorry."
"Umm, I don't care, Marina. I'm just here to pick up Zeus. We'll be out of your way in no time," said Phil. Phil and I exchanged a knowing look concerning my human pet: she's slightly "off" in terms of her behavior when he's around.
Phil took me to the airport, but I sure do wish now that he had stayed with me for the extremely long flight! Traveling in an airplane in the dark can be very scary, especially if you have never done it. I know because it was my first time! Looking out the window and seeing nothing but blackness underneath you can be extremely disconcerting.
When I landed, the scene was nothing but hustle and bustle! It was amazing to me to find many similarities to America, but there were also some interesting differences. English homo sapiens do not speak the same way as Mericky humans do. They have different words and sayings that I did not know so I had to pick up NTC's Super-Mini British Slang Dictionary. I must say that was very helpful!
For example, I was looking for a taxi. I kept meowing, "Taxi! Taxi!" but not one cab pulled over. I scanned through my new book, and lo and behold, there was a completely different way of asking for a taxi! With my new information, I held my paw and said loudly, "Joe Baxi! Joe Baxi!" and surprisingly, for once, I managed to get a taxi all on my own! Take that, production crew!
I managed to get the taxi or 'Joe Baxi' to drop me off at Liverpool Street Station just as Fat Eric had directed me. Once on my ride, being in a train was simply breathtaking! I kept trying to turn my head to see what was to my left but then it was gone by the time I got to my right. Everything just moves so quickly! It's very different than a car or airplane to be certain.
When it was time for my stop, I got off and looked around, but it didn't take me long to know which house was Fat Eric's. After all, I knew his human pet had terrific gardening skills so I looked for the most English of English gardens. I spotted it in no time flat!
I walked up to the house, knocked with a few headbutts, and sure enough, a nice lady met me at the door with shouting:
"Blimey! It's Zeus!" She turned her head away from the door towards the inside. "Fat Eric! It's your friend, Zeus! Come quick so the two of you can chin wag before that Phil bloke comes along."
I meowed, purred, and rubbed along the human lady pet's legs to let her know how grateful I was for having me over, but I still couldn't help wondering what I was supposed to be doing with Fat Eric when we met. Chin wag? Phil is broke? Blimey? What does it all mean?
"Yeh ol' septic kitty, you!"
Now I'm a septic tank? Is he saying I stink? Goodness!
I turned to see Fat Eric chuckling at my expressions. I thought this was where I was supposed to wag my chin at him in a form of English standard greeting so I wagged with all my might back and forth while the girthy tabby shook with howls of laughter.
"Oh Zeus, don't be daft! She means we're going to talk! What do you Mericky kitties say? 'Chit-chat'?"
"Oh!" And with red blushing through my cheeks, I stopped shaking my chin back and forth like a fool. "So you're not saying then that I'm a stinky kitty?"
"Crikey, no! That's just some Cockney rhyming slang for Mericky peoples."
"That's a relief!" I replied with a sigh.
There was a rap at the door, and we both turned our heads in the sound's direction.
"That Phil is a prompt lad. He's all business, he is," said Eric.
Eric's human lady pet answered the door, and somehow, Phil had managed to make it across the seas without me! I was shocked!
"Fat Eric. Zeus. You have 165 pounds for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
"Excuse me, Phil?" I piped up quietly.
Phil raised one eyebrow inquisitvely, and his tone was completely host-like: "Yes Zeus?"
"I don't really think Fat Eric nor myself appreciate your implication of our weighing 165 lbs. We don't really weigh that much together, and even if we did, it's not polite to point that out to people or felines."
Phil almost smiled as he said, "Zeus, they use pounds in England. It's their currency. They don't use dollars."
"Nice try, Phil," I said.
"No really, he's spot-on, Zeus," stated Eric.
"Goodness," I muttered as I lowered my head.
Phil left soon after, and Eric and I opened our clue together:
Make your way to Piccadilly Circus. There you will find your next clue.
"Why is he going to send us there? I thought you said there's no clowns!" I said.
"Well, I think he knows it might be a challenge for us to find the clue. It's pretty busy there," replied Eric.
We actually decided we would go back to pick up the train and head back to the Liverpool Street Station. Once we got off there, we hopped onto the roof of a double-decker bus, and it is here that I might add it was a bit more difficult for us to get to the top due to not one, but two floors! I really thought I had seen it all, but apparently, I hadn't! And do you know they actually have people on the second floor? I don't know how humans come up with these things!
When we arrived at Piccadilly Circus, I understood what Eric had been saying. The
whole place was overflowing with activity! Sights, sounds, movement! It was completely overwhelming at first, but we looked for the clue with a sheer tenacity that was unmatched. However, I must admit that I was a bit in awe of the bronze statue of an archer in the center of the intersection. Eric told me the statue's name was Eros, and I thought that was a very strange name indeed.We found the clue (Not surprisingly, we had been walking around it, but so many humans were in our way!), but when we went to open it, I heard this a strange man's voice say,
"Are you Zeus by chance?"
I turned around and saw this older gentleman looking down at me with the most curious expression on his face.
"You must be Zeus."
I knew he was saying something, but his lips weren't moving so I was a bit confused. I played along and thought back, "Do you have something to say to me?"
"Your weblog will be very popular. When I stepped into your atmosphere, I could tell immediately as you're surrounded by positive energy."
My atmosphere? Strong positive energy? I'd heard that somewhere before...with the human pet...hmmm...
"Oh my goodness! Eric! It's Derek Acorah! My human pet is going to be SO JEALOUS!" I shouted.
"Luvvly-jubbly!" exclaimed Eric.
Before I could get my next question out, Derek said, "Of course, Zeus. You can have a picture with me. You can even have your friend, Eric, in it too."
I hadn't even asked, and he knew what I was thinking!
"How did you know I wanted a picture?" I asked curiously.
"Sam told me," he replied. Eric and I couldn't figure out who this Sam guy was because it was just the three of us talking, but we let it slide.
After taking a picture with Derek, Eric and I decided to read our next clue:
Make your way to Big Ben. Once there, search for your next clue.
"Is this some person we have to meet?" I asked Eric.
"Oh goodness no! That's the most famous Clock Tower in all of London, but really, Big Ben is the name of the bell inside of the Clock Tower and not the Clock Tower itself. Not too many Merickans know that. C'mon! I know where it is," answered Eric.
I followed Eric as we made our way to what he called the tube. I hadn't known there were trains that went underground and connected parts of the city together. Eric even told me that here in America we call them subways. It was really pretty cool.
We got off at Westminster, and there in front of us, was the amazing sight of Big Ben...or I suppose the Clock Tower with Big Ben. It was pretty remarkable. I'm sure other people might think it is just a clock, but I think it's pretty neat to see what homo sapiens can do with their time when they're not sleeping or eating.
We found the clue shortly thereafter. (To me, it seemed they were rather conveniently placed!) It said:
Make your way to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London.
"Have you ever been there, Eric?" I asked.
"Not at all. Have you ever been to something that sounds like that in Mericky?" asked Eric.
I started to say, "No, but I did go to that haunted house with Oreo..."
"You don't think it will be like that, do you?!" Eric seemed very frightened suddenly.
"It's wax. That's from candles. Maybe it's just some fancy schmancy candle museum. How bad can it be?" I said.
We went back to the tube and this time, we got off at the Baker Street underground station. We walked for a little bit along Marylebone Road, and there it was: The museum in all of its glory. When Eric and I walked inside, we both were shocked as there were no candles in there as we had anticipated. There were homo sapiens standing there that looked like real homo sapiens, but they were actually...and you're not going to believe this...made of wax! It was completely bizarre!
"I think the Queen is lookin` at me!" said Eric as he stared at statues of the Royal Family.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say it was her," I said. The eyes on these fake homo sapiens really creeped me out!
"Maybe we should bow just in case it is her. You know...just to be on the safe side and all," said Eric.
I agreed. We both bowed down to the Royal Family just in case it turned out later it was them. I didn't want to be accused of not adhering to traditions in a foreign country!
"I don't know about you, but this is really weird," I said.
Eric nodded. "I think it's time we go home. It's been a long day, don't you think?"
I did. We hobbled our tired paws back to Baker Station and rode the tube back to Liverpool Street Station. Though we were exhausted, we walked slowly up to Eric's house where his lovely human lady pet was waiting:
"I was wondering when you boys would be back. It's time to take Zeus to the airport. He has a very long ride back to Mericky, you know!"
Ah, I shall miss London. It was thrilling to be in another country filled with strange sights and sounds with lots of exciting things to do. Thank you so much Fat Eric for letting me come visit with you, and thank you to your human lady pet for being such a great sport! I hope sometime you can come visit me in Houston, Texas, but I think you will need to shave first before you get here. It's just too hot!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
God Save The Queen...and Zeus Too!
Hello everyone!
Apparently, my friend, Phil, said I needed a passport. I didn't know how I was ever going to get one so quickly, but he said it was rather easy with all of his connections. After some running around, signing documents, and such, I finally got it all taken care of. Tell me what you think of my passport picture:
So after I got my passport, Phil told me where I was going by handing me my postcard.
Apparently, my friend, Phil, said I needed a passport. I didn't know how I was ever going to get one so quickly, but he said it was rather easy with all of his connections. After some running around, signing documents, and such, I finally got it all taken care of. Tell me what you think of my passport picture:
So after I got my passport, Phil told me where I was going by handing me my postcard.
Front:
LONDON
Back:
30/05/06
Hi Zeus!
We chose this card because it shows many different sights you will see when you come to London. You may want to see the view from the London Eye (top row, right). Or travel by tube (bottom row, left). But we're afraid there are no clowns at Piccadilly Circus, just traffic (second row centre). You can get to my house easily by catching a train from Liverpool Street Station. Hope you have fun on your travels!
Fat Eric
I must admit had it not been for the prospect of traveling across the seas to see my best friend, Fat Eric, I would have broke into tears at the thought of not getting to see real, live clowns at Piccadilly Circus. I'm still heartbroken over this revelation.
However, I will see you tomorrow, Fat Eric! I hope you're ready! Phil said I need to be ready by this evening in order to get there by Thursday. How thrilling!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
The Amazing Zeus: Ships, Soldiers, and Miss Maggie May
Hello feline friends and human pets!
This morning, Phil arrived bright and early at my house with two cups of Starbucks
in his hands.
"I don't drink coffee, Phil," I said matter-of-fact.
"I know, but Marina does. I think maybe I should just talk to her, and see if I can get her to calm down a bit," he said.
"I don't know, Phil. It's not like she's been real good about remaining upright when you say good-bye to her," I replied.
"Well, I'm not saying good-bye. I'm saying hello!" he said.
My human pet came into the room while Phil and I were discussing the plan. She spotted Phil, and her eyes became wide. Then, I think she smelled the coffee, and as is typical of her morning routine, she was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. She sat down at the table across from Phil and next to me.
"Here you go, Marina. I just thought you might want some coffee this morning," Phil said pleasantly and passed my human pet her black morning fuel.
My human pet looked completely shocked and said nothing as she sipped her coffee. I watched as she looked back and forth at Phil and then me, and I couldn't exactly read her facial expressions. She seemed as though she were in deep contemplation.
Under her breath, I heard her say, "This is so surreal."
After a few minutes of discussing where I would be going for the day, Phil announced it was time for us to be on our way. I nodded and leapt up into Phil's arms. My human pet didn't move so much as an inch as we made our way out the door, but I was grateful that Phil hadn't made her faint for once.
The flight was pleasant, and this time, the production crew actually had a taxi waiting for me. I think they're beginning to learn that it's easier to just have it there for me than for me to flag it down myself. The ride out to Miss Maggie May's place was very beautiful as summer is in full bloom in her area of Virginia.
I arrived at her house, walked up to the front door, and jumped up to ring the door bell. A human lady pet opened the door and looked down to find me sitting there on her porch. "Why Zeus! Miss Maggie May is going to be so excited that you're here! C'mon in!"
The human lady pet went off into another room, and before I knew it, I was bombarded by the little calico.
"Zeus! Wowzers! I can hardly believe you're here! Tell me, tell me, tell me! Where we goin'?" said Miss Maggie excitedly.
"I don't know yet, little one. I think, though, Phil will be here soon enough. He has a 'sixth sense' concerning these matters it seems," I said.
"Do we have time to watch some Kitty TV by chance?" asked Miss Maggie.
"Hmm. Possibly. I never know with my friend, Phil," I answered.
We walked over to Miss Maggie's Kitty TV, and I sat down to watch with her. She has some good entertainment on her TV: cardinals, robins, and morning doves darting back and forth, squirrels rustling in the branches, and not to mention, some really nice climbing trees! I was super impressed!
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Miss Maggie and Zeus, I believe that man named Phil is here," said Miss Maggie's human lady pet.
We went to the front door, and sure enough, there was Phil is all of his splendor.
"Miss Maggie May and Zeus: You have $100.00 for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
"Bummer! Only $100.00! Does that mean we won't do a lot, Zeus?" asked Miss Maggie.
"I don't think so. Phil always has tricks up his sleeves," I said.
We opened the clue and read it together:
Make your way to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. There you will find your next clue.
"But I don't know how to build ships, Zeus!" cried Miss Maggie.
"I don't think we need to know how to build ships, but we will find our next clue there!" I said.
We spoke to Miss Maggie's nice human lady pet and asked her if she could take us to the shipyard. She said she could, but that we needed to be careful when we got there because there were lots of machines, ship parts, and sharp objects we could get hurt on. I thought that was very good advice so I made extra sure to watch out for Miss Maggie.
The Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (NNS) was HUGE. I could not believe how many boats they were making! People had been making boats at NNS since 1886! The ships they build have been used to aid the Armed Forces. It was simply incredible to see those massive parts come together to make something greater!
Miss Maggie and I found out that the motto for NNS is: "We shall build good ships here. At a profit - if we can. At a loss - if we must. But always good ships," stated by Collis Potter Huntington, the man who began NNS way back in 1886. We both thought that was pretty cool to be so determined!
However, I think that I must have been too fascinated with the shipyard that I let my eyes wander off of Miss Maggie for but one moment. When I turned back to say something to her, she was gone!
"Miss Maggie! Miss Maggie! Where are you?" I cried. My heart thudded in my chest. 'This is going to be all my fault,' I thought to myself. 'People are going to kill me for losing the little one!'
From off to the side, I heard a human male say, "Would you look at that kitty up there? Holy cow!"
I looked to the right and noticed a group of men all pointing and staring at a heavy black chain leading to one ship's gigantic propeller. I followed their gaze to see Miss Maggie May climbing the chain up to the tremendous ship!
"Oh no!! Miss Maggie May, you're not to climb that!" I screamed. "Get down right now! Your human lady pet is going to kill me!"
"I'm practicing for the Catolympics, Zeus! Wheeeeeeeee!" Her voice was faint as she was so high above me.
"I mean it, Miss Maggie May! Get down! We haven't found the clue yet! Don't you want to find the clue?" I was beginning to get nervous. I paced back and forth, meowing up a storm by these human men. Why weren't any of them helping her?
"Ok sure! Let's find the clue!" Miss Maggie May slid all the way down the chain as if she were some expert at carnival tricks, and when she landed, she didn't seem to be phased at all by how high she had been in the air. I nuzzled her fiercely and said, "Please, Miss Maggie, don't do that again! I was so very frightened for you!"
"I don't know why! I'm a very good climber!" she said cheerfully.
Near the black chain (shudder), we found the clue. If only we had spotted it sooner then perhaps Miss Maggie May's life might not have been endangered! We opened it up together, and it read:
Make your way to Colonial Williamsburg.
"That's way cool! Williamsburg!" shouted Miss Maggie, and then added, "What is it?"
I chuckled. "Williamsburg is a very historical place, just like the NNS. Let's make our way back to your human lady pet, and get going!"
The drive to Williamsburg was pleasant, and when we arrived, Miss Maggie bounded out of the car like a rocket. "I wanna see the buildings, the people, the food! I wanna see it all!" she cried happily. "Ok, and we will," I said, bounding after her, "but you need to stay with me this time!"
There was no use. Miss Maggie May had spotted a group of colonial soldiers firing their cannons at the enemy. "Ooo! Smokey! Let's go!" And with that she ran off in their direction.
I about had a heart attack. "Miss Maggie May! No! Don't run in front of the soldiers! Don't get in front of the cannon!" 'Oh my goodness, I can't look!'
BOOM! ZIP! WHIZZ! BANG!
"Wowzers! These cannons are loud!" screamed Miss Maggie.
"Why don't you come over here, Miss Maggie! There's some soldiers ma
rching, and that doesn't require us getting hurt!" I yelled to her.
"Ooo! Marching! Let's go!" she said.
I tried showing Miss Maggie how to step in time with the beat of the drum, but she definitely was into her own beat. We wagged our tails in time and held our heads up high with pride. It was fun marching through the fields, pretending we were real soldiers.
"Hey! Looksie! There's a parade in the town! Let's go!" And off she went without so much as a glance back to see if I had been following her. I chased after her, but I was beginning to pant. The little one had so much energy that I didn't even know if I could keep up!
We sat down (thank goodness!) and watched the parade as it made its way through the streets. The soldiers held their ranks, and all of them looked extremely serious. "This is very interesting, isn't it, Miss Maggie May?"
I didn't hear her answer. My heart sank as I looked down, only to find out she was not there again.
"This guy is so cool! Look!"
I turned around and found Miss Maggie May sitting beside Thomas Jefferson's statue. "He doesn't move or anything. He doesn't even blink! I don't know how he can stay in the same position for so long! Don't you think that's weird?"
I was too pooped to explain so I just nodded. "Have you seen enough? I think it may be time for me to go home."
"Already?! Are you sure?!" cried Miss Maggie.
"Yes, I think so. You're a very precious and curious little one. I just don't think I can keep up with you, Miss Maggie, and I don't want you to get hurt!" I told her.
"Okies, but you come back soon, alright?" she said.
"Alright!" I agreed.
I would like to thank Miss Maggie May and her human lady pet for having me over to their wonderful home. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Miss Maggie May's human lady pet for driving me everywhere we needed to go. You were very kind to take time out of your schedule for us.
And to Miss Maggie May: I promise I will return soon enough! Hugs!
This morning, Phil arrived bright and early at my house with two cups of Starbucks
in his hands."I don't drink coffee, Phil," I said matter-of-fact.
"I know, but Marina does. I think maybe I should just talk to her, and see if I can get her to calm down a bit," he said.
"I don't know, Phil. It's not like she's been real good about remaining upright when you say good-bye to her," I replied.
"Well, I'm not saying good-bye. I'm saying hello!" he said.
My human pet came into the room while Phil and I were discussing the plan. She spotted Phil, and her eyes became wide. Then, I think she smelled the coffee, and as is typical of her morning routine, she was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. She sat down at the table across from Phil and next to me.
"Here you go, Marina. I just thought you might want some coffee this morning," Phil said pleasantly and passed my human pet her black morning fuel.
My human pet looked completely shocked and said nothing as she sipped her coffee. I watched as she looked back and forth at Phil and then me, and I couldn't exactly read her facial expressions. She seemed as though she were in deep contemplation.
Under her breath, I heard her say, "This is so surreal."
After a few minutes of discussing where I would be going for the day, Phil announced it was time for us to be on our way. I nodded and leapt up into Phil's arms. My human pet didn't move so much as an inch as we made our way out the door, but I was grateful that Phil hadn't made her faint for once.
The flight was pleasant, and this time, the production crew actually had a taxi waiting for me. I think they're beginning to learn that it's easier to just have it there for me than for me to flag it down myself. The ride out to Miss Maggie May's place was very beautiful as summer is in full bloom in her area of Virginia.
I arrived at her house, walked up to the front door, and jumped up to ring the door bell. A human lady pet opened the door and looked down to find me sitting there on her porch. "Why Zeus! Miss Maggie May is going to be so excited that you're here! C'mon in!"
The human lady pet went off into another room, and before I knew it, I was bombarded by the little calico.
"Zeus! Wowzers! I can hardly believe you're here! Tell me, tell me, tell me! Where we goin'?" said Miss Maggie excitedly.
"I don't know yet, little one. I think, though, Phil will be here soon enough. He has a 'sixth sense' concerning these matters it seems," I said.
"Do we have time to watch some Kitty TV by chance?" asked Miss Maggie.
"Hmm. Possibly. I never know with my friend, Phil," I answered.
We walked over to Miss Maggie's Kitty TV, and I sat down to watch with her. She has some good entertainment on her TV: cardinals, robins, and morning doves darting back and forth, squirrels rustling in the branches, and not to mention, some really nice climbing trees! I was super impressed!
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Miss Maggie and Zeus, I believe that man named Phil is here," said Miss Maggie's human lady pet.
We went to the front door, and sure enough, there was Phil is all of his splendor.
"Miss Maggie May and Zeus: You have $100.00 for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
"Bummer! Only $100.00! Does that mean we won't do a lot, Zeus?" asked Miss Maggie.
"I don't think so. Phil always has tricks up his sleeves," I said.
We opened the clue and read it together:
Make your way to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. There you will find your next clue.
"But I don't know how to build ships, Zeus!" cried Miss Maggie.
"I don't think we need to know how to build ships, but we will find our next clue there!" I said.
We spoke to Miss Maggie's nice human lady pet and asked her if she could take us to the shipyard. She said she could, but that we needed to be careful when we got there because there were lots of machines, ship parts, and sharp objects we could get hurt on. I thought that was very good advice so I made extra sure to watch out for Miss Maggie.
The Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (NNS) was HUGE. I could not believe how many boats they were making! People had been making boats at NNS since 1886! The ships they build have been used to aid the Armed Forces. It was simply incredible to see those massive parts come together to make something greater!Miss Maggie and I found out that the motto for NNS is: "We shall build good ships here. At a profit - if we can. At a loss - if we must. But always good ships," stated by Collis Potter Huntington, the man who began NNS way back in 1886. We both thought that was pretty cool to be so determined!
However, I think that I must have been too fascinated with the shipyard that I let my eyes wander off of Miss Maggie for but one moment. When I turned back to say something to her, she was gone!
"Miss Maggie! Miss Maggie! Where are you?" I cried. My heart thudded in my chest. 'This is going to be all my fault,' I thought to myself. 'People are going to kill me for losing the little one!'
From off to the side, I heard a human male say, "Would you look at that kitty up there? Holy cow!"
I looked to the right and noticed a group of men all pointing and staring at a heavy black chain leading to one ship's gigantic propeller. I followed their gaze to see Miss Maggie May climbing the chain up to the tremendous ship!
"Oh no!! Miss Maggie May, you're not to climb that!" I screamed. "Get down right now! Your human lady pet is going to kill me!"
"I'm practicing for the Catolympics, Zeus! Wheeeeeeeee!" Her voice was faint as she was so high above me.
"I mean it, Miss Maggie May! Get down! We haven't found the clue yet! Don't you want to find the clue?" I was beginning to get nervous. I paced back and forth, meowing up a storm by these human men. Why weren't any of them helping her?
"Ok sure! Let's find the clue!" Miss Maggie May slid all the way down the chain as if she were some expert at carnival tricks, and when she landed, she didn't seem to be phased at all by how high she had been in the air. I nuzzled her fiercely and said, "Please, Miss Maggie, don't do that again! I was so very frightened for you!"
"I don't know why! I'm a very good climber!" she said cheerfully.
Near the black chain (shudder), we found the clue. If only we had spotted it sooner then perhaps Miss Maggie May's life might not have been endangered! We opened it up together, and it read:
Make your way to Colonial Williamsburg.
"That's way cool! Williamsburg!" shouted Miss Maggie, and then added, "What is it?"
I chuckled. "Williamsburg is a very historical place, just like the NNS. Let's make our way back to your human lady pet, and get going!"
The drive to Williamsburg was pleasant, and when we arrived, Miss Maggie bounded out of the car like a rocket. "I wanna see the buildings, the people, the food! I wanna see it all!" she cried happily. "Ok, and we will," I said, bounding after her, "but you need to stay with me this time!"
There was no use. Miss Maggie May had spotted a group of colonial soldiers firing their cannons at the enemy. "Ooo! Smokey! Let's go!" And with that she ran off in their direction.I about had a heart attack. "Miss Maggie May! No! Don't run in front of the soldiers! Don't get in front of the cannon!" 'Oh my goodness, I can't look!'
BOOM! ZIP! WHIZZ! BANG!
"Wowzers! These cannons are loud!" screamed Miss Maggie.
"Why don't you come over here, Miss Maggie! There's some soldiers ma
rching, and that doesn't require us getting hurt!" I yelled to her."Ooo! Marching! Let's go!" she said.
I tried showing Miss Maggie how to step in time with the beat of the drum, but she definitely was into her own beat. We wagged our tails in time and held our heads up high with pride. It was fun marching through the fields, pretending we were real soldiers.
"Hey! Looksie! There's a parade in the town! Let's go!" And off she went without so much as a glance back to see if I had been following her. I chased after her, but I was beginning to pant. The little one had so much energy that I didn't even know if I could keep up!We sat down (thank goodness!) and watched the parade as it made its way through the streets. The soldiers held their ranks, and all of them looked extremely serious. "This is very interesting, isn't it, Miss Maggie May?"
I didn't hear her answer. My heart sank as I looked down, only to find out she was not there again.
"This guy is so cool! Look!"
I turned around and found Miss Maggie May sitting beside Thomas Jefferson's statue. "He doesn't move or anything. He doesn't even blink! I don't know how he can stay in the same position for so long! Don't you think that's weird?"
I was too pooped to explain so I just nodded. "Have you seen enough? I think it may be time for me to go home."
"Already?! Are you sure?!" cried Miss Maggie.
"Yes, I think so. You're a very precious and curious little one. I just don't think I can keep up with you, Miss Maggie, and I don't want you to get hurt!" I told her.
"Okies, but you come back soon, alright?" she said.
"Alright!" I agreed.
I would like to thank Miss Maggie May and her human lady pet for having me over to their wonderful home. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Miss Maggie May's human lady pet for driving me everywhere we needed to go. You were very kind to take time out of your schedule for us.
And to Miss Maggie May: I promise I will return soon enough! Hugs!
Return to the Old Dominion State
Bonjour, amis félins et animaux de compagnie humains !
(That's Hello, my feline friends and human pets in French! If nothing else, I am certainly being exposed to a lot of different cultures!)
When I got back home from my adventures in Florida, the human pet gave me my next postcard. I was rather pleased with the fact that the human pet is no longer trying to contain me in The House. She seems to have accepted the fact that I will be traveling. I think she just gets so worried at times that it clouds her vision.
(That's Hello, my feline friends and human pets in French! If nothing else, I am certainly being exposed to a lot of different cultures!)
When I got back home from my adventures in Florida, the human pet gave me my next postcard. I was rather pleased with the fact that the human pet is no longer trying to contain me in The House. She seems to have accepted the fact that I will be traveling. I think she just gets so worried at times that it clouds her vision.
It said:
Front
Virginia: The Old Dominion State
Back
Dear Zeus, Greetings from Virginia! Mama and I love your blog and look forward to seeing all of the places you "visit". Hugs and purrs, Miss Maggie May.
I am so excited to be going back to the beautiful state of Virginia (which I have now deduced has been named after Derby's Vir-ginger)! Phil has informed me that because you are so young, Miss Maggie May, he thinks this may be more educational. I don't actually mind that since I am such a book worm as it is....well not a worm....but....oh stupid homo sapien sayings!
I cannot wait to meet you, Miss Maggie May!
The Amazing Zeus: Manx Mnews and the Endless Swamp
Hello furry feline friends and human pets,
I was quite surprised when Phil showed up at my house early this morning informing me that The Amazing Zeus was still going to continue. I personally had thought it was over, but Phil told me that sometimes, it works in the station's favor to have cliffhangers and such. He said the suspense of what was going to happen in Florida with Manx Mnews probably had people on the edge of their seats.
I wasn't too sure I believed Phil, but he was, after all, the expert on good television for homo sapiens. As we were on our way out, Phil waved to my human pet, Marina, and said, "I'll make sure he picks you up a souvenir or two. You have a great day, Marina."
"Phil, no!" I screamed.
But once again, we heard the thump and knew that the human pet was on the floor, passed out from "star anxiety".
"I'm beginning to think you do that on purpose, Phil," I muttered.
The flight out to Florida was beautiful: sunny skies, big, puffy clouds, and lots of great scenery. I love being able to see the ocean as well with its big blue waves. If I was partial to water, I might have actually loved it more!
By taxi (Thank you production crew once again for your help!), I made my way to Abby and the gang. I was very excited to meet all of them! I had never met a feline without a tail so I was a bit intrigued. What was it like? Did it hurt? Did she ever wish she had a tail so she could chase it?
Once I got to the house, I walked up the path, knocked on the door, and waited patiently. Miss Debbie opened the door and looked right and left, but she didn't see me. She closed the door on me, and I was right there! I jumped up again and rang the doorbell. This time, she opened it with a scouring eye, but I meowed loud and clear! She looked down, said excitedly, "Oh Zeus!", and then called the others to come and say hello.
Everyone came dashing around the corner, and I felt as if I was about to get ran over! I was terrrified to be honest.
"Zeus! Unbelievable! You're finally here!" screamed Abby.
"I told you he would be coming soon. You just had to take a lot of naps to make it happen sooner is all," said Boo.
"Dude, there was never any doubt," said Jinx looking at Boo.
"Admit it: You doubted it," said Ping to Jinx.
"I never did personally," said Gracie quietly from the back of the main group.
"Zeus, what do you think we will be doing? There sure is a lot of us, but no haunted houses! We heard about that, and that's just not for us," said Abby definitively.
"I'm not sure, sweet Abby. I suspect we'll find out soon though."
And though you will think I am kidding, that is when the doorbell rang.
"Woohoo!" screamed Jinx.
"That Phil guy is really prompt. He doesn't waste time," said Boo to Ping.
Miss Debbie opened the door, and sure enough it was Phil. He looked down at us with his announcer eyes, staring right into our inner souls. "Zeus, Abby, Boo, Ping, Jinx, and Gracie: I hold in my hand two envelopes. Please choose which envelope you would like."
We all turned to look at one another. "Zeus," said Gracie cautiously, "It never happens like this. What is this guy doing?"
"I don't know," I said, turning to look back at Phil to see if I could read his features. He was as intense as stone. "Which one do you think we should pick?"
"Left! I saw this commercial about taking a trip and making all left turns. Those beans did neato things so it has to be left!" said Abby.
We all considered that for a moment, asking one another if we had seen the commercial. Most of us had, and we thought Abby's logic was quite sound. We told Phil our answer, and he said, "Very well. You have five hundred dollars for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
Our eyes bulged out of our skulls! Five hundred dollars?! Where would be going?
Opening the clue, we all huddled around and read it together:
Make your way to the Everglades.
"The swamp?! That's worse than a haunted house!" cried Ping.
"We could get eaten alive!" said Jinx.
"Or...we could be the bravest kitties ever!" said Boo. "I think we should try."
I nodded in agreement and said, "I think as long as we all stick together we will be fine. However, the swamp is a very icky place. Full of mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and lots of other buggies. Maybe we should douse ourselves in Revolution before we go."
Miss Debbie was only more than happy to oblige my idea. She made sure all of us were up to date with our medicine, and then one-by-one, we made our way to the car. (Miss Debbie, having already read of my journeys elsewhere, had suspected that she would be needed to drive. She was very on top of the game.)
Once we arrived at the swamp, we gathered together to come up with a plan. "I say we all link tails and then walk through the swamp in a straight line," said Jinx.
"AHEM!" said Abby, hitting Jinx with her big right paw.
"Oh yeah," said Jinx, "I forgot!"
"Perhaps we could just walk together and not hold tails," I said.
"Yes, perhaps we could," said Abby, who was clearly miffed at Jinx's comment.
There was a constant buzzing noise that surrounded us from the moment we entered the dense foliage. Every type of bug swarmed around us, and the thick, muddy ground beneath our paws made me want to take a bath immediately. The humidity alone was enough of a motivator to get wet...and we cats never get wet!
Every direction, you could see some sort of animal peeking out at you. We met a very nice Atlantic leatherback turtle named Shellie who told us of how she had come near the swamp to lay her eggs. She told us she was worried since most of her children never reach the ocean. Ping and Abby offered to watch the babies for a little bit, but the turtle laughed. "You two are very kind, but what will be will be. We turtles have lived a very long time, and we know this to be true," said Shellie wisely.
"You wouldn't have seen a clue in here, would you?" asked Boo.
"A clue? What do you mean, 'a clue'?" Shellie asked in reply.
"I don't think she knows what we're talking about," whispered Ping to Abby.
We said good-bye to Shellie, but as she was walking away, Gracie yelled, "Stop! Stop!" Shellie stopped in her tracks, and Gracie said, "Look!" There on Shellie's back was our next clue! I couldn't even believe it. We snagged the clue off of Shellie's shell and read it together:
You are getting warmer. Continue east to find your next clue.
Using the sun as a guide in the sky, we figured out which direction was east. As we walked through the nastiness that was the swamp, we came across a rather disturbing sight: an American Crocodile and her babies all swimming together in the murky waters.
"We are so going to die," said Jinx.
"Why? Do they really eat cat?" said Abby. "I've never heard of them eating cat before."
"That's because cats aren't stupid enough to come in here usually!" said Jinx in a rather urgent
tone.
I went to the front of our group and said, "Excuse me, kind Ma'am. Could you help us? We're a bit lost."
I hadn't heard the swamp be silent all day, but I believe it became quite quiet right then.
With a deep gurgle in the back of her throat, the old female crocodile strolled towards us. "Yes, you are quite, quite lost," she said, looking us up and down with her bulbous, yellow, slitted eyes. "Why did you come here, housepets?" she asked.
I almost corrected her, but I didn't have the nerve when I saw her huge mouth filled to the brim with incisors ready to take my fur off in a single bite. "Umm...we're looking for a clue that looks like this, Ma'am." Ping held up the clue to the crocodile, and the crocodile pondered it for a moment with a deep, reverberating, "Mmmmmhmmmmm."
"Yes, I think I have seen that. It is right over there about twenty or so flaps of the tail away. Not far at all," she said with the same horrible gurgle.
We all said thank you and then quickly, with our feline prowess, ran around her as fast as we could! We could hear the crocodile laughing and her babies high-pitched giggling. "Good-bye housepets! Perhaps next time you can come over for dinner!"
"I'm never coming over for dinner! Never!" cried Abby as we all continue to run ahead.
We found the clue not too far away as the crocodile had implied. Though we had to get our paws wet, it seemed we were all willing to brave it just to possibly get out of the swamp. Gracie held the clue up for us so we could read it together:
Congratulations! You have survived the Everglades! Make your way to Walt Disney World for the rest of the day.
We all cheered! To be out of the swamp was to be in heaven! Hurriedly, we made our way back to Miss Debbie who was sunning herself by the car. "Oh thank goodness!" she said when she spotted us appearing from the swamp. "I was so worried about my babies, and even you too, Zeus!"
"She had every reason to be worried," said Gracie affirmatively.
We made our way to Walt Disney World, and from there on, the day was a breeze. We visited with all of the characters, and I even got to meet Mickey Mouse! You know, it was amazing to find out how down to earth he was. He was so modest that he never said a word to me about his success. He just smiled at me continuously which just struck me as completely gracious and kind. However, we all took turns hissing at Dopey and Pluto. After all, they are woofies!
Abby even got to meet Winnie-the-Pooh, and we were able to get a nice picture of them together. Winnie seems like a very nice bear with a big heart. He offered us some of his honey and chuckled when we did not want it. He introduced us to his friends Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, and Kanga. They were all very nice people. In fact, everyone in Disney World was very nice!
When the sun was setting, the five of us agreed it was time to say good-bye. We walked back to the parking lot, smiling and laughing, talking about the day's excitement.
"You know, even though Disney World was nice, I would have liked to stay in the swamp I think," said Boo.
"I was just thinking that too," said Abby.
"Me too," said Jinx.
"Me four," said Ping.
"I don't know why, but I feel that way too," said Gracie.
"I think it is because we were in the presence of great history when we were in the swamp," said Zeus. "To me, to meet Shellie was awe-inspiring."
The gang all nodded. "We'll have to check up on her babies and make sure they make it to the ocean!" said Ping.
"Even the crocodile was fun, but I'm never going over for dinner! Never!" said Abby.
We all laughed. Miss Debbie was waiting for us in the parking lot, and she smiled warmly as we approached. "Time to take Zeus back to the airport. I hope you all had a great day!" We all looked at one another and nodded with big grins. It definitely had been a terrific day, even if at times it was scary.
Thank you, Manx Mnews, for having me visit you in Florida. I hope you had a terrific time with me as I did with you. Thank you, Miss Debbie, for driving us everywhere we needed to be. I don't think we could have done it without you! I cannot wait to see you again sometime in the future, but for now, I think I need to take a nap and catch up on some reading.
I understand I am going back to Virginia it would seem. Hmm...
P.S. If any of you would like to become involved with helping The Everglades, please visit The Everglades Conservationist Network. Support our ecosystems: Not only for the present, but for the future!
I was quite surprised when Phil showed up at my house early this morning informing me that The Amazing Zeus was still going to continue. I personally had thought it was over, but Phil told me that sometimes, it works in the station's favor to have cliffhangers and such. He said the suspense of what was going to happen in Florida with Manx Mnews probably had people on the edge of their seats.I wasn't too sure I believed Phil, but he was, after all, the expert on good television for homo sapiens. As we were on our way out, Phil waved to my human pet, Marina, and said, "I'll make sure he picks you up a souvenir or two. You have a great day, Marina."
"Phil, no!" I screamed.
But once again, we heard the thump and knew that the human pet was on the floor, passed out from "star anxiety".
"I'm beginning to think you do that on purpose, Phil," I muttered.
The flight out to Florida was beautiful: sunny skies, big, puffy clouds, and lots of great scenery. I love being able to see the ocean as well with its big blue waves. If I was partial to water, I might have actually loved it more!
By taxi (Thank you production crew once again for your help!), I made my way to Abby and the gang. I was very excited to meet all of them! I had never met a feline without a tail so I was a bit intrigued. What was it like? Did it hurt? Did she ever wish she had a tail so she could chase it?
Once I got to the house, I walked up the path, knocked on the door, and waited patiently. Miss Debbie opened the door and looked right and left, but she didn't see me. She closed the door on me, and I was right there! I jumped up again and rang the doorbell. This time, she opened it with a scouring eye, but I meowed loud and clear! She looked down, said excitedly, "Oh Zeus!", and then called the others to come and say hello.
Everyone came dashing around the corner, and I felt as if I was about to get ran over! I was terrrified to be honest.
"Zeus! Unbelievable! You're finally here!" screamed Abby.
"I told you he would be coming soon. You just had to take a lot of naps to make it happen sooner is all," said Boo.
"Dude, there was never any doubt," said Jinx looking at Boo.
"Admit it: You doubted it," said Ping to Jinx.
"I never did personally," said Gracie quietly from the back of the main group.
"Zeus, what do you think we will be doing? There sure is a lot of us, but no haunted houses! We heard about that, and that's just not for us," said Abby definitively.
"I'm not sure, sweet Abby. I suspect we'll find out soon though."
And though you will think I am kidding, that is when the doorbell rang.
"Woohoo!" screamed Jinx.
"That Phil guy is really prompt. He doesn't waste time," said Boo to Ping.
Miss Debbie opened the door, and sure enough it was Phil. He looked down at us with his announcer eyes, staring right into our inner souls. "Zeus, Abby, Boo, Ping, Jinx, and Gracie: I hold in my hand two envelopes. Please choose which envelope you would like."
We all turned to look at one another. "Zeus," said Gracie cautiously, "It never happens like this. What is this guy doing?"
"I don't know," I said, turning to look back at Phil to see if I could read his features. He was as intense as stone. "Which one do you think we should pick?"
"Left! I saw this commercial about taking a trip and making all left turns. Those beans did neato things so it has to be left!" said Abby.
We all considered that for a moment, asking one another if we had seen the commercial. Most of us had, and we thought Abby's logic was quite sound. We told Phil our answer, and he said, "Very well. You have five hundred dollars for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
Our eyes bulged out of our skulls! Five hundred dollars?! Where would be going?
Opening the clue, we all huddled around and read it together:
Make your way to the Everglades.
"The swamp?! That's worse than a haunted house!" cried Ping.
"We could get eaten alive!" said Jinx.
"Or...we could be the bravest kitties ever!" said Boo. "I think we should try."
I nodded in agreement and said, "I think as long as we all stick together we will be fine. However, the swamp is a very icky place. Full of mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and lots of other buggies. Maybe we should douse ourselves in Revolution before we go."
Miss Debbie was only more than happy to oblige my idea. She made sure all of us were up to date with our medicine, and then one-by-one, we made our way to the car. (Miss Debbie, having already read of my journeys elsewhere, had suspected that she would be needed to drive. She was very on top of the game.)
Once we arrived at the swamp, we gathered together to come up with a plan. "I say we all link tails and then walk through the swamp in a straight line," said Jinx.
"AHEM!" said Abby, hitting Jinx with her big right paw.
"Oh yeah," said Jinx, "I forgot!"
"Perhaps we could just walk together and not hold tails," I said.
"Yes, perhaps we could," said Abby, who was clearly miffed at Jinx's comment.
There was a constant buzzing noise that surrounded us from the moment we entered the dense foliage. Every type of bug swarmed around us, and the thick, muddy ground beneath our paws made me want to take a bath immediately. The humidity alone was enough of a motivator to get wet...and we cats never get wet!
Every direction, you could see some sort of animal peeking out at you. We met a very nice Atlantic leatherback turtle named Shellie who told us of how she had come near the swamp to lay her eggs. She told us she was worried since most of her children never reach the ocean. Ping and Abby offered to watch the babies for a little bit, but the turtle laughed. "You two are very kind, but what will be will be. We turtles have lived a very long time, and we know this to be true," said Shellie wisely.
"You wouldn't have seen a clue in here, would you?" asked Boo.
"A clue? What do you mean, 'a clue'?" Shellie asked in reply.
"I don't think she knows what we're talking about," whispered Ping to Abby.
We said good-bye to Shellie, but as she was walking away, Gracie yelled, "Stop! Stop!" Shellie stopped in her tracks, and Gracie said, "Look!" There on Shellie's back was our next clue! I couldn't even believe it. We snagged the clue off of Shellie's shell and read it together:
You are getting warmer. Continue east to find your next clue.
Using the sun as a guide in the sky, we figured out which direction was east. As we walked through the nastiness that was the swamp, we came across a rather disturbing sight: an American Crocodile and her babies all swimming together in the murky waters.
"We are so going to die," said Jinx.
"Why? Do they really eat cat?" said Abby. "I've never heard of them eating cat before."
"That's because cats aren't stupid enough to come in here usually!" said Jinx in a rather urgent
tone.
I went to the front of our group and said, "Excuse me, kind Ma'am. Could you help us? We're a bit lost."
I hadn't heard the swamp be silent all day, but I believe it became quite quiet right then.
With a deep gurgle in the back of her throat, the old female crocodile strolled towards us. "Yes, you are quite, quite lost," she said, looking us up and down with her bulbous, yellow, slitted eyes. "Why did you come here, housepets?" she asked.
I almost corrected her, but I didn't have the nerve when I saw her huge mouth filled to the brim with incisors ready to take my fur off in a single bite. "Umm...we're looking for a clue that looks like this, Ma'am." Ping held up the clue to the crocodile, and the crocodile pondered it for a moment with a deep, reverberating, "Mmmmmhmmmmm."
"Yes, I think I have seen that. It is right over there about twenty or so flaps of the tail away. Not far at all," she said with the same horrible gurgle.
We all said thank you and then quickly, with our feline prowess, ran around her as fast as we could! We could hear the crocodile laughing and her babies high-pitched giggling. "Good-bye housepets! Perhaps next time you can come over for dinner!"
"I'm never coming over for dinner! Never!" cried Abby as we all continue to run ahead.
We found the clue not too far away as the crocodile had implied. Though we had to get our paws wet, it seemed we were all willing to brave it just to possibly get out of the swamp. Gracie held the clue up for us so we could read it together:
Congratulations! You have survived the Everglades! Make your way to Walt Disney World for the rest of the day.
We all cheered! To be out of the swamp was to be in heaven! Hurriedly, we made our way back to Miss Debbie who was sunning herself by the car. "Oh thank goodness!" she said when she spotted us appearing from the swamp. "I was so worried about my babies, and even you too, Zeus!"
"She had every reason to be worried," said Gracie affirmatively.
We made our way to Walt Disney World, and from there on, the day was a breeze. We visited with all of the characters, and I even got to meet Mickey Mouse! You know, it was amazing to find out how down to earth he was. He was so modest that he never said a word to me about his success. He just smiled at me continuously which just struck me as completely gracious and kind. However, we all took turns hissing at Dopey and Pluto. After all, they are woofies!
Abby even got to meet Winnie-the-Pooh, and we were able to get a nice picture of them together. Winnie seems like a very nice bear with a big heart. He offered us some of his honey and chuckled when we did not want it. He introduced us to his friends Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, and Kanga. They were all very nice people. In fact, everyone in Disney World was very nice!When the sun was setting, the five of us agreed it was time to say good-bye. We walked back to the parking lot, smiling and laughing, talking about the day's excitement.
"You know, even though Disney World was nice, I would have liked to stay in the swamp I think," said Boo.
"I was just thinking that too," said Abby.
"Me too," said Jinx.
"Me four," said Ping.
"I don't know why, but I feel that way too," said Gracie.
"I think it is because we were in the presence of great history when we were in the swamp," said Zeus. "To me, to meet Shellie was awe-inspiring."
The gang all nodded. "We'll have to check up on her babies and make sure they make it to the ocean!" said Ping.
"Even the crocodile was fun, but I'm never going over for dinner! Never!" said Abby.
We all laughed. Miss Debbie was waiting for us in the parking lot, and she smiled warmly as we approached. "Time to take Zeus back to the airport. I hope you all had a great day!" We all looked at one another and nodded with big grins. It definitely had been a terrific day, even if at times it was scary.
Thank you, Manx Mnews, for having me visit you in Florida. I hope you had a terrific time with me as I did with you. Thank you, Miss Debbie, for driving us everywhere we needed to be. I don't think we could have done it without you! I cannot wait to see you again sometime in the future, but for now, I think I need to take a nap and catch up on some reading.
I understand I am going back to Virginia it would seem. Hmm...
P.S. If any of you would like to become involved with helping The Everglades, please visit The Everglades Conservationist Network. Support our ecosystems: Not only for the present, but for the future!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A note from the human pet
Dear feline blogosphere,
I'm sorry if Zeus doesn't post too much in the days ahead. I think he might have explained this already, but I am in one class (from 8:30 until 5:00) every day and then I come home to do six hours of homework. I don't have much time for myself, even to take a breath. I have my final on Saturday, and then I am done.
I will help Zeus do the lay-outs for The Amazing Zeus as soon as I can. We have received a few more postcards so hopefully I can get to them throughout next week during my next class. It's not his fault this blog is falling behind; it's mine.
I'm sorry!
Sincerely,
Marina
I'm sorry if Zeus doesn't post too much in the days ahead. I think he might have explained this already, but I am in one class (from 8:30 until 5:00) every day and then I come home to do six hours of homework. I don't have much time for myself, even to take a breath. I have my final on Saturday, and then I am done.
I will help Zeus do the lay-outs for The Amazing Zeus as soon as I can. We have received a few more postcards so hopefully I can get to them throughout next week during my next class. It's not his fault this blog is falling behind; it's mine.
I'm sorry!
Sincerely,
Marina
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Update: Zeus Refuses to Leave Human Pet
Associative PressKINGWOOD, TX - Zeus has stated that he will not leave the human pet's house states an anonymous source close to the family.
Zeus, who has been recently touring the world in The Amazing Zeus campaign, has steadily been visiting one site every other day thanks to the help of Phil Keoghan and The Amazing Race. So far, Zeus has visited with Princess Mia, Oreo, and the GGC (Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli). He was supposed to be visiting with Abby and the gang at Manx Mnews as of this morning.
How this will affect the campaign remains unclear, but speculation leans to "skipping one day". Sources inform us, though, that when Zeus saw the huge textbook his human pet had to read for her current one-week compressed class, his "eyes bulged with lust". The anonymous source claims this is the primary motivation behind Zeus' actions.
The imperial American tabby could not be reached for comment.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Way down upon the Swanee River
Today is a good day, feline friends and human pets!
As I was lounging about, the human pet slipped yet another postcard underneath my fluffy belly. I moved back slightly, only to find Mr. Garfield the Cat smiling up at me. I have often been compared to Garfield due to my eating habits so to see the legend himself was something close to awe-inspiring!
As I was lounging about, the human pet slipped yet another postcard underneath my fluffy belly. I moved back slightly, only to find Mr. Garfield the Cat smiling up at me. I have often been compared to Garfield due to my eating habits so to see the legend himself was something close to awe-inspiring!
It reads:
Front:
We'll have fun, fun, fun 'til my daddy takes the plastic away!
Back:
May 30
Zeus and Isis - We're looking forward to your visit. Be sure to pack light, it's very HOT here. Can't wait to see you. Lots to do, so hope you can stay awhile!
Purrs,
Abby and the gang
Woohoo! Sunny Florida here I come! I am super excited, Manx Mnews, and I cannot wait to see all of you tomorrow. I can only imagine what Phil will have in store for us!
With sunlotion and sunglasses in paw,
Sunday, June 04, 2006
The Amazing Zeus: Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli and The Stolen Swordfish
What a day it has been, my friends!
At around five in the morning, Phil Keoghan knocked on the front door. This time, I took the liberty of answering since my human pet had already fallen once in the foyer. I did not want her to have any additional injuries due to my travels.
"Zeus, you know the drill. Here is the production crew's credit card. You're going to Seattle, Washington today. You set?" Then Phil looked behind me, at what I assumed, was my human pet. "I'll have him back here by midnight this evening, Marina. I don't want you worrying about him."
I heard a tremendous thud, and when I turned around to see what had happened, there was my human pet lying on the floor in the kitchen, coffee staining the carpet. I turned to look up at Phil. "I don't think you should talk to my human pet anymore, Phil. You have a poisonous mouth or something. It might be time to go to the doctor to have that checked out."
Phil chuckled, collected me up into his arms, and drove me to the airport. My flight was fairly uneventful. I did get some scritches from two of the flight attendants, and they even gave me extra peanuts. I felt very important for all the attention they lavished upon me.
Once there in Seattle, I caught a taxi (thanks to one of the crew's help) and made my way to Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli. Considering there were going to be four of us, I wondered what Phil might be planning. That was a lot of people for a team, and I had heard of The Amazing Race: Family Edition, but these were my friends - not my family!
I walked up to the front door of the home and knocked. I heard some rustling and loud meows, and then I saw their human pet: "Welcome, Zeus! They are all waiting for you! Come inside!" I purred and rubbed against their human lady pet and told her thank you.
"Z-z-zeus? Is it really you?"
I turned my head to see Gemini coming at me from my right.
"It is him!"
I turned my head to the left to see Georgia.
"Of course it's him! Who else was supposed to be coming today? The Queen of England?"
Cheysuli was dead in front of me.
We didn't even really get a chance to talk as there was a knock at the door. We turned around to see who else might have shown up at the house.
"Wow, that was f-f-fast. I didn't think it would be that fast," said Gemini a bit nervously.
"I had a feeling it might be like this. There's four of us instead of two so they might expect us to do more," I explained.
GGC's human lady pet opened the front door, and sure enough it was Phil. He looked down at us pointedly: "Gemini, Georgia, Cheysuli, and Zeus: You have $200.00 for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels."
"Holy hairballs! $200.00?! Alright!" screamed Gemini.
We read the clue together:
At around five in the morning, Phil Keoghan knocked on the front door. This time, I took the liberty of answering since my human pet had already fallen once in the foyer. I did not want her to have any additional injuries due to my travels.
"Zeus, you know the drill. Here is the production crew's credit card. You're going to Seattle, Washington today. You set?" Then Phil looked behind me, at what I assumed, was my human pet. "I'll have him back here by midnight this evening, Marina. I don't want you worrying about him."
I heard a tremendous thud, and when I turned around to see what had happened, there was my human pet lying on the floor in the kitchen, coffee staining the carpet. I turned to look up at Phil. "I don't think you should talk to my human pet anymore, Phil. You have a poisonous mouth or something. It might be time to go to the doctor to have that checked out."
Phil chuckled, collected me up into his arms, and drove me to the airport. My flight was fairly uneventful. I did get some scritches from two of the flight attendants, and they even gave me extra peanuts. I felt very important for all the attention they lavished upon me.
Once there in Seattle, I caught a taxi (thanks to one of the crew's help) and made my way to Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli. Considering there were going to be four of us, I wondered what Phil might be planning. That was a lot of people for a team, and I had heard of The Amazing Race: Family Edition, but these were my friends - not my family!
I walked up to the front door of the home and knocked. I heard some rustling and loud meows, and then I saw their human pet: "Welcome, Zeus! They are all waiting for you! Come inside!" I purred and rubbed against their human lady pet and told her thank you.
"Z-z-zeus? Is it really you?"
I turned my head to see Gemini coming at me from my right.
"It is him!"
I turned my head to the left to see Georgia.
"Of course it's him! Who else was supposed to be coming today? The Queen of England?"
Cheysuli was dead in front of me.
We didn't even really get a chance to talk as there was a knock at the door. We turned around to see who else might have shown up at the house.
"Wow, that was f-f-fast. I didn't think it would be that fast," said Gemini a bit nervously.
"I had a feeling it might be like this. There's four of us instead of two so they might expect us to do more," I explained.
GGC's human lady pet opened the front door, and sure enough it was Phil. He looked down at us pointedly: "Gemini, Georgia, Cheysuli, and Zeus: You have $200.00 for this leg of the race. Make sure to read your clue carefully, and be safe on your travels.""Holy hairballs! $200.00?! Alright!" screamed Gemini.
We read the clue together:
The four of us looked at one another curiously. The four of us had no idea what the clue meant, but as our luck turned out, GGC's lady pet knew exactly where to find this strange icon. "Let's all get into the car, and I'll show you where it is so you can find your next clue!"
It wasn't too long of a drive, but once we arrived, the four of us were more than a bit confused.
"It doesn't even look operational!" Georgia said.
"We're still going to have look around, though, for the clue," I told her.
"Leave it to me, you three. I know what we need to do in order to find the clue," said Cheysuli.
Gemini, Georgia, and I watched Cheysuli trot off. "What is she doing?" I asked. "I think she has lost it finally," replied Georgia.
"Guys, look!" screamed Gemini.
Cheysuli had found the clue in no time at all simply by putting on her funky cowboy hat and glasses. "I knew this part was meant for me as soon as we drove up," she beamed.
We huddled around Cheysuli to read the clue:
We jumped back into the car while GGC's lady pet drove us off to Seattle Center. Once there, we stepped out of the car, and the four of us began to walk the grounds towards the Space Needle. As we neared the structure, Gemini tugged on my tail.
"Why don't we try to get it, Zeus?"
"Get what, little one?"
"The clue! I sees it!"
Gemini pointed, and as my eyes followed the direction of his paw, I let out a small gasp. The cluebox was located a good distance up the metal supports of the building. "Gemini, I don't know. I have a bit of a...weight problem," I said softly.
"No worries! We'll do it together!"
I struggled to get enough momentum together to even attempt a leap to the cluebox, but it was no use. Too much stinky goodness had inhibited my jumping abilities. Gemini, however, was marvelous! He crawled through the crevices and various nooks to reach the cluebox, and he wasn't even afraid to come back down as leapt from beam to beam!
"-ere -ou -o," he said with the clue in his mouth. Georgia, Cheysuli, and I all said in unison, "Huh?" Dropping the clue in front of us, Gemini said with a smile, "Here you go!"
We read the clue together:
Make your way to the First Starbucks Store. Once there, find the golden coin. There, you will find your next clue.
"Oooo, my human pet is going to be so jealous! She loves coffee! How exciting!" I said.
We scampered back to GGC's lady pet and the car. When she heard of where we were headed, she seemed quite happy. "I could use some coffee for all of this," she said. If I had been the coffee-drinking-type, I probably would have agreed with her.
When we arrived, there were many homo sapiens milling about, attempting to get their caffeine fix. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and the long-winded orders with requests of "two shots of this" or "heavy cream, not milk" filled our noses and ears. It was quite difficult to get through the maze of legs and avoid the walking of feet. Cautiously, we weaved our way through different sale stands of signature coffees and a tower of mugs. At one point, Georgia almost knocked one down with but a flick of her tail, and I thought all was lost.
"That's it! Right there!" Georgia cried.
We looked up, and we couldn't believe we had been walking right past it this whole time. The four of us touched the coin, and as we did, a cluebox appeared out of the ground. To say the humans were shocked would be quite the understatement.We snagged the clue and made our way outside to read it:
With the end in sight, we climbed into GGC's lady pet's car and 
And perhaps one of the biggest reason the smell hung in the air is because the fish were FLYING through the air! I was in shock!
"Hit the dirt!" I cried. The four of us sprawled on the ground as a swordfish sailed through the air. All of the humans cheered for the duo who were tossing the scales back and forth. "This is a bit crazy," I said.
"Crazy, yes, but fun! I'm going to snag that fishy!" Before we could stop her, Cheysuli was off and running.
We heard the homo sapiens count off the throw: "1...2...3!!!!" The fish was up, flying to its destination, when suddenly, there was a heavy thwap of scales meeting pavement.
Cheysuli had done it. She had intercepted the flying fish!
"Help me with this quickly! We need to make a break for the car!" she cried out. Running over to her aid, Gemini, Georgia, and I each took a side of the swordfish and carried it to their lady pet's car.
"What the -?" she said confused.
"No time for questions. Step on the gas, woman!" shouted Cheysuli.
The four of us sat in the backseat with the stink of swordfish filling up the car. GGC's lady pet couldn't handle it and rolled down the windows. The sun was shining, and with the huge fish underneath us, we knew life could not be any better than this.
It was interrupted, though, when GGC's lady pet sternly said, "Ok...I think it's time to put an end to this. Stealing swordfish is where I draw the line. Cheysuli, Georgia, and Gemini: we're taking Zeus to the airport, and when we get home, we're going to have a very long talk."
Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli all giggled. Gemini whispered, "It was definitely worth getting in trouble with the Mama, Zeus. Don't worry! Now we're going to have fish for weeks!" Georgia nodded as did Cheysuli."This definitely has been a terrific time, and I sure am going to miss you three. I hope we do it again soon!" I said.
In unison, they said, "Absolutely!"
I want to thank Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli for all of the great fun I had in Seattle. I will never forget it. I also want to thank GGC's lady pet for driving us around to where we needed to go. I also apologize for the stolen swordfish, but I hope it lasts you a long time now that you have it. After all: Why let it go to waste just because it was stolen?
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Pearls in the Jam and Coffee to Boot
你好, 我似猫的朋友和人的宠物!
(That's "Hello, my feline friends and human pets!" in Chinese. I'm learning so much on these travels!)
I got another postcard! This time, I didn't really have to fight with the human pet to get my paws on it either. As she was going through the afternoon mail, I spotted it in advance. I just leapt onto her lap, snuggled to distract her, and then bit down on it so I could read it for myself.
(That's "Hello, my feline friends and human pets!" in Chinese. I'm learning so much on these travels!)
I got another postcard! This time, I didn't really have to fight with the human pet to get my paws on it either. As she was going through the afternoon mail, I spotted it in advance. I just leapt onto her lap, snuggled to distract her, and then bit down on it so I could read it for myself.
It says:
Front:
Seattle, Pike Place Public Market
Back:
Hey Zeus - We thought you'd like this fish better than the typical Seattle Scene. (Insert return address here!)
Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli
I am so excited! I will be going to Seattle, Washington tomorrow! My human pet is going to be so extremely jealous since she has always wanted to go there. (After all, that is where Pearl Jam was born she tells me, but she's only into the Pearl Jam of the first three albums...whatever that nonsense means.)
I cannot wait to meet you, Gemini, Georgia, and Cheysuli! See you tomorrow!
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