Brandy's Story
RIP my precious little companion. You were so loved and will never be forgotten.
Brandy at Age 20
Once upon a time someone found a tiny gray kitten on the side of the road. I traveled to Lansdale, PA to check out the kitten for a neighbor. But, the moment I saw its tiny gray face peeking out of the carrier, I decided this kitten must be mine.
I took the little kitten home and adopted her on October 6, 1994. I named her Brandy. Little did I know that we would be inseperable companions for the next 20 and a half years.
Brandy was a purrr-fect pet. She was a tiny, shy, tidy and amusing little cat with a whisper meow. But with her independent nature she always reserved a stern hiss for any stranger who came to close.
Brandy was the first to jump into bed at night when the TV went off. Then she would pounce on my chest every morning at 7:00 A.M. ready to be fed.
When I choose to move to Arizona Brandy was 13 years old. I bought Brandy an oversized cage and we made five-day trip from Philly to Mesa together.
Brandy was the perfect little lady during the trip. Each evening when I stopped I would set up her litter box, feed her and go out to dinner. When I returned she would always be asleep on the bed.
I fed her each morning, went to breakfast, emptied and cleaned the litter box and we were on the road again.
She adapted very well to her new home taking over the guest bedroom. For the next eight years she loved sleeping on top of the bed pillows or among the stuffed animals that decorated the bed.
Suddenly, on January 23, 2015, Brandy suffered a collapsed colon and after nearly 21 years together, I lost her.
My fondest memories of Brandy will always be her sleeping snuggled between my feet at night and laying on my chest in the morning purring for her breakfast.
Mornings and after-work naps were a special time for me because they were the times Brandy allowed me to hold her and pet her.
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Lucky's Story
As time passed I learned to live outside but I missed my warm bed.
My name is Lucky! And there's a reason for that. Here is my story...
I once had a comfortable home. Then one day my family began packing up their belongings but instead of taking me with them they opened the door and let me out into the backyard.
I was confused as I watched them drive away. After a couple of days a neighbor noticed me and occassionally gave me food and water. I stayed close to my house thinking they would come back but they never did. As time passed I learned to live outside but I missed my warm bed.
One day a couple ladies came with metal boxes and placed them under the patio. Something smelled delicious inside the boxes. I was so hungry I stepped inside one of the boxes where I found a banquet of wonderfully prepared tuna. But then, just as I reached for the last crumb "slam" the door shut and I was stuck. I was very scared.
When I woke up the next day I was in a warm and safe home. There was a nice lady talking to me. She scooped me up and held me close. That was nice.
During the time I was loose and wasn't vaccinated I got Feline
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Just Call Me Lucky
Imunodeficiency Virus from another cat. FIV cannot be passed to humans or other animals but it can be passed to other cats.
I had been with my foster mom for several weeks when, on February 3, 2015 a very nice couple came to visit me. That day they adopted me. They took me home with them the next day.
I was scared that first night and in the morning when the patio door opened I darted out, scaled a 6' wall and landed in their neighbor's yard. Before anyone could get to me, though, I had disappeared.
Charle and Joan searched everywhere for me but I stayed hidden. Charlie thought I was lost because he put my litter box outside along with one of those metal boxes. He also put some food in a carrier near the front door.
That night I got so hungry I decided to take a chance on the food near the front door. I must have bumped something. There was a noise. I ran. Charlie came out with a flashlight. When he came around to the backyard he found me sitting on the wall. I wouldn't let
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him come close. Instead I ran down the wall and hid in some vines.
Soon it was quiet again but I had an idea. I went to the front door, grabbed a bite of food and "knocked" on the front door. Sure enough Charlie opened the door to find me sitting on the front walk looking very curious. But again I ran away into the night.
It was late when I came back to the house. It was quiet except for a hooting owl. Charlie had moved the metal box to the patio and put some of that wonderfully prepared tuna in it.
During the night I got so hungry that I stepped into the metal box where there was some dekicious tuna waiting for me. But just as I was enjoying my feast "slam" the door shut and I was stuck. I was so scared that I knocked my food dish over and all that delicious tuna spilled out of the box.
Charlie didn't hear my meows until early in the morning. He brought the box in the house with me inside. When he open the box he hugged me and brushed me. He gave me a breakfast of tender beef.
My new daddy and mommy love me very much. I have a warm bed again and I get brushed every night. Charlie even lets me go ouside with him. At first in a harness and leash but now I am a very, very good kitty. I love to be outdoors. I love sitting up on that wall but I would never run away again. I like to stay close in my nice safe yard.
Just call me Lucky!
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Seeing The World
I've been lucky enough to have traveled quite extensively. I was in the USAF for four years but my service years included travel only to Texas, Mississippi and upstate New York. After my enlistment I moved to PA.
My first travels abroad were a product of my employment. My first trip was to Italy in 1966. I traveled to Anzio, Italy via Rome as liason representing the U.S. Army during a NATO conference. The US and other participating nations were demonstrating their latest and greatest electronic warfare equipment.
That same project took me to San Diego, CA and to Phoenix, AZ but it would be nearly 25 years before I would travel abroad again.
During my management years with JCPenney I was transfered from PA to Ohio and then New Jersey where I would spend the next ffiteen years. It was in New Jersey that I took my first cruise.
It was April 1989 when I took that cruise. And, I use the term "cruise" lightly because it was a 3-day cruise down the Delaware Bay, into the Atlantic Ocean and back again.
New to cruising and for budget reasons, I suppose, I had an "inside" cabin. The toilet and
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shower were a cubicle in the room. I had a great time though. Fine dining, casino gambling and ice carvings poolside.
The two things I remember most about that cruise are that the Tiananmen Square protest had occurred and a passenger remarking "Here come the basement people." as a few of us made our way up the stairs to the dinning room.
My next cruise didn't occur until 1994 on Royal Carribean's Song of Norway. This time I made sure I had an upper deck cabin with a window. It was a wonderful and enlightning cruise through the Mediterrean. It began in Venice and proceeded to Greece, Sicily, Naples, Rome, Florence, the French Riviera and finally Mallorca and Barcelona, Spain.
My next cruise was in 1997. This time I had a roomy cabin with a veranda on RC's Splendor of the Seas. This was a much larger ship and we cruised the Baltic Sea visiting Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway, Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, Tallin, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia.
I made this cruise again in 2004 and this time adding Moscow, Russia to the itenerary. I was back on a small ship, Norwegian Cruise Line's Noordam.
That year I retired from The Philadelphia Housing Authority. I had taken up golf and had enjoyed
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golfing in Phoenix, AZ during the winters in Philly. Arizona is where I decided I wanted to spend my retirement. I bought a home in Mesa in 2005 and moved there in July of 2007. This is where I met Joan who enjoyed cruising so much she had been on about 30 cruises.
Together I began cruising again. This time we chose Crystal Cruises. They have two small ships, under 1,000 passengers. Most of our cruises we Atlantic crossings where we spent our time dancing to the sounds of the Big Band era. We also took a Pacific Ocean cruise visiting Honolulu, Hawaii and Aukland, New Zealand.
One cruise took us from Dover, England to Dublin, Ireland, Reicky, Iceland, Nuke, Greenland, Nova Scotia and on to NYC. We also cruised from Marseille, France to Girona, Mallorca, Barcelona, Cartagena and Cadiz, Spain, Gibralter and Portamao and Lisbon, Portugal. Another cruise took us through the Panama Canal visiting Catagenia, Columbia, Panama City, Costa Rica, El Salvadore and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
We have also enjoyed visiting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and visiting many small towns throughout Jalesco, Mexico.
For photos and stories visit
Charlie's Travel Journal
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