Yes I Have A Three Legged Cat

Gracie is her name, and she loves going out for walks, not with the harness and leash I use, but she has no choice.

Actually it’s a foot that’s missing, her right rear, and when Gracie walks she relies on three legs, unless the floor is carpeted. Here’s what happened today when I took Gracie out to the park which is right across the street.

I would guess he was in his 30’s, had been riding his bike and was taking a break in the park where there is a nice view of the Hudson River (just outside of New York City by the way). Waring ear plugs, listening, looking at the view.

I confess this is a bias of mine, but I think Gracie is one hell of a cute cat, and one hell of a hopper when she walks. And she is on a harness and leash (which one does not often see), hopping in front of this fellow, taking her time, peering cautiously (Gracie is a cautious cat), but walking right in front of him.

Every opportunity to unplug and say “Hi.” But he did not. Here’s my other bias – he, like so many other New Yorkers (and I suspect other locations as well, huh?) is plugged in and tuned out. I am older than 30, actually significantly over 30, and I know this. So don’t write and tell me I’m over 30 and just don’t get it. I DON’T GET IT!

What I don’t not get is the desire to listen to music while looking out over a beautiful scene, or wanting some solitude because for all I know this guy is around noisy people all day long, or quiet people but no music, or maybe just maybe he does not think Gracie all that cute or specially-abled. Maybe.

I do not get that I see this kind of thing all day long everywhere – in NYC, in the suburbs, on the street, on the trains, in cars, so many people plugged in and in one situation or another simply tuning out the world around them. It’s a different generation, and each new one is not understood by the previous.

But here’s a curious thing. It’s not generational. This behavior, or lack there of, cuts across generations – society is turning inwards and backing away from social experience, more or less the opposite of what we were seeing as a trend in the so called Sixties.

Good night Gracie.