Our Kitty Rambo

My first distinct memory of Rambo is from the 7th Street house in Wyoming, when I was talking with Dad in the kitchen.  Rambo was super friendly, he jumped onto a box in the laundry area so that I could pet him.  He was your special kitten (Alex & Rob, you had named him), along with his younger brother Ross.  Let's get the worst stuff out of the way...  Later on, Dad was not doing well and would no longer care for them so put both cats out of the house.  This was just terrible (it happened shortly after Rob began staying at Montgomery Ave full-time in the spring of 2014, and you guys worried about them constantly).  Unfortunately we're not sure what happened to Ross, who had black fur.  But Rambo was around the house, and Aunt Pam and a next-door neighbor Holly were feeding him.  In the fall before it got really cold, we drove over to 7th Street to look for Rambo.  On our 2nd attempt to find him, Rob you called his name and he came out of the bushes.  I'll always remember this rescue mission, as you held Rambo in the car.  So with help from Jim at Grooming Cottage, he got cleaned up.  And after a brief socialization period he joined Tiger and Jean Luc, to establish our "tres gatos" household. 

Rambo was, understandably, a bit neurotic after this horrendous experience.  Upon arriving here, he was super focused on food, he always perked up and rushed to the kitchen upon hearing "Treats, Treats!".  As he got sicker early this month, he was eating only treats and of course lost so much weight.  He certainly loved tuna fish, which he got regularly this summer.  Rambo consistently drank out of the toilet in the upstairs back bathroom, which was a big incentive for us to keep the bowl clean.  Yuk!  Plus, a few years ago he stopped using the litterbox to pee.  Instead he peed in front of the litterbox - absolutely disgusting!!  So we became good customers at Wallgreens buying underpads, which we cut to fit litter trays.  Honestly, it's a relief not to be dealing with that problem any more.  Rambo never had any interest in going back outside, though we enjoyed the screened-in porch upstairs, which is perfect for bird-watching and has warm sun spots.

Rambo was almost a "Kitler", sporting half a Hitler mustache.  He liked me to occassionally pet his head, but that was it.  He let both of you guys pick him up for cuddles, briefly.  Rambo got along ok with Tiger, although Tiger intimidated him by following Rambo around - Steve called it a "low speed chase" - which ended with Rambo hiding, usually under my desk in the living room.  He got on well with Jean Luc, they were good buddies particularly they enjoyed sleeping together on beds upstairs.  He was annoyed when kitten Oren was adopted.  Of course Oren had lots of energy and would jump on Rambo, which resulted in Steve yelling at Oren to "stop riding Rambo like a horsey!".  Rambo would snarl, and escape troublesome Oren by climbing up on the dining room table (this didn't make me especially happy).  

It was truly difficult last week for Rob and me to take him to Shoemaker Animal Hospital, where he was literally put to sleep.  It was merciful and quick, and certainly the hardest thing we do for our pets.  Alex, you came a couple days in a row to say goodbye to Rambo.  And you know exactly how painful this is, since you and Aunt Pam took Jessie to the vet at the end of her life.

Steve is so attached to our kitties, as you know.  He wrote his own post about Rambo on NCFE, it makes me cry every time I read it  --> Requiem for Rambo .  Steve would get Rambo to do "rollies" i.e., roll over, as you know.  And he made up various names for Rambo:

• Rollie Kitty
• Rambi
• Rambi Pambi
• Rambolio
• The Great Rambolio
• Ramstone
• Ramshackle

Here are a couple song lyrics Steve adapted and often sang to Rambo....   To the tune of "Mandy" by Barry Manilow "Oh Rambi, well you came and you purred when I pet you.  But they sent you away, oh Rambi."  Also, to the tune of "Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens "I'm being followed by a ramshackle, ramshackle ramshackle."

At the end of this post are some pictures of our boy doing various Rambo things.  And in loving memory of Rambo, here is Cat Stevens performing "Moonshadow".

A Time of Change (and hitting the "Pause" button)

I feel like I've just switched from the Play button to the Pause button.  This hiatus is pretty unusual in my busy life, since finishing college at age 21 and starting full-time work a few weeks later.  Rambo's cancer had progressed, and after seeing how sick he became it was best to have him put to sleep a week ago (you'll see a separate post about our sensitive kitty Rambo).  Rob, you just moved to Syracuse to begin your sophomore year of college as a transfer student from LCCC.  I'm still unemployed, after limited job searching over the summer.  So the house is quiet during the day, with just Oren and me here.  I think Oren is a bit lonesome, as he's going through a similar time of adjustment.  Though I haven't felt like writing for a while, this is a good time to catch up.  Oren is sitting next to me - you can see kitty toys, including Ratty which he got out of the cat toy box last night.

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Edie McCausland - It's hard to write this, such a huge loss to us... 😢  Since May, Edie hadn't been well due to severe, painful arthritis in her lower back which made walking extremely difficult.  She had a major stroke in early August, and passed about a week later on Aug. 15th.  Jon is devastated, he SO hoped she could at least partially recover and come home to Hill St.  I expect to write more about Edie later on, around the time of her memorial service next month.  She and her partner Jon Dodge were an important, joyful part of your childhood.  Here is a picture of them from 2008, when we spent a day together at Old Sturbridge Village.

9th Wedding Anniversary - It's been 9 years already since Steve and my wedding on July 3, 2015.  We are especially counting, since there won't be as many anniversaries as some couples get.  And we're definitely staying happy together.  To celebrate, we spent a long weekend at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.  The falls are incredible, be sure you go there during the week when it's less crowded (you'll probably notice plenty of Indian tourists & restaurants).  We ate dinner at the Skylon Tower revolving restaurant.  The food was good and and views were fantastic - see 2nd shot below.  You probably don't remember much about a mid-west vacation with Dad around 2005, but when you were quite young we had a lovely time eating at a revolving restaurant in St Louis.  Steve is an excellent husband, step-dad, and photographer.

Girls' Weekend - In past years, I've had fun at Girls' Weekends Away with Grammie and your Rivers aunties.  Ocassionally we are joined by female Zeller cousins (Zeller being Grammie's maiden name), as was the case last month. This means my Aunt Mary's daughter Mary Lee Carson, and Aunt Margaret's daughters Meg Mozdiez and Annie Carlson Goldberg.  Julie hosted us at her house in Phoenixville, which made it easy to spend an afternoon with Grammie and Grandad.  The first photo below shows me, Meg, Grammie, Aunt Diana and Annie standing, Aunt Julie in front of me and Grandad (Mary Lee took the picture), and the second photo is Mary Lee with her husband Del.

Camping Trip in Ontario - Alex, you got 2 weeks off from AZEK... a feat in itself.  The vacation time was for quite an adventure - you and Mark Chatman-Royce went primitive camping in Ontario's lake country with Uncle John and family.  You showed me your big toe nail on I believe your left foot, which was partially ripped off when your foot slipped off a large rock.  You did some surgery to begin removing the damaged nail, then Mark finished it for you (after you had a dram o' whisky).  No more wearing sandals when portaging, in spite of relatively light-weight canoes.  You got to hear wolves howling, loons calling and owls hooting.  I heard that you tried cliff jumping, the kids were fun (except for when Noel saved Bea from drowning, which is absolutely terrifying), Uncle John and Aunt Fran prepare delicious food and there were only a couple leech encounters.  Plus something I never thought you would say, toward the end you got bored with fishing for bass.  Here are some pics Uncle John sent....

ESF in Syracuse - Finally, it has happened after literally years of dealing with headaches & neck discomfort.  Rob, we moved you into Copper Beech Commons in Syracuse to start the paper engineering program at SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  You gave notice at Cracker Barrell on Aug. 11th.  We loaded up your Altima and my Equinox, then Steve, you and I drove on I-81 due north to Syracuse on Aug. 21st (it took us a couple months to gather the many things you need for your apartment).  We got your room set up which included unpacking your new printer and building a night stand & shoe rack, and went out for dinner at Trapper's Pizza in East Syracuse.  Besides needing to order you a few extras like a mattress topper, you're all set.  After orientation, classes started this Monday.  What a huge change, and I'm so happy for you!  It was nice to meet your roommate Ben (Connor wasn't there), and I know you'll start making friends as you go along.  Also as Alex suggested to ya, I expect you'll get to some parties.  Am truly thankful for support you've gotten from your cousin Ellen Warner (Uncle Morris & Aunt Marion's daughter) in coming to school at ESF.  Here's a picture taken by the mailman - really! - just before we left West Pittston.

The Empty Nesters - Meanwhile, back here at the Montgomery Ave ranch Steve & I are giving Oren regular cuddles and pets.  A window AC unit that Aunt Julie gave us has been fantastic to supplement the inadequate first floor ductless AC unit.  When I turn it on, I keep thinking of Han Solo telling Chewie to "Punch it!" in Star Wars.  The hummingbirds have been here for a few weeks, Steve has planted more flowers and we spend plenty of time on the front porch.  Plus I am taking a West Pittston walk almost every morning.  Glad this summer has included both Play and recent Pause time.