Memories of a special kitty

The following letter was forwarded to me from Joann, another of Pal's many friends.

Dear Pal:

I am writing this letter to you even though you and I did not know each other very well. Thanks to your Mommy, I knew much more about you than you can ever imagine. Your Christmas photos have a well-deserved, premium spot on our refrigerator. That’s quite an honor, Pal, because we don’t even put photos of the kids in our family on the refrigerator. It’s a place of honor for those who we feel are special - like you. You’ve done quite a service to our family. When my little great niece, Alyssa, visits us, she runs to the kitchen to view the photos of “chicken cat.” She stands for the longest time just staring and smiling at your pictures. She’s hyperactive so we’re grateful that your photos keep her occupied.

You’ve touched my life in other ways too. When you were brand new, your Mommy sent me an email with your baby picture. I pulled up the e-mail in work and somehow managed to memorialize your photograph as a screen saver. Although I was delighted to see your sexy eyes staring at me from my computer screen, I somehow managed to “freeze” my entire computer system. This is ordinarily not a big deal, Pal, as I’ve done other interesting things with my computer. But, you see, I work with people who are stupid and paranoid (this is post 9/11 - before 9/11 they were just stupid). When my computer would not turn off, an alarm was sent to the “Security Dudes” who promptly came to my workstation (read: cubicle) to see the extent of the havoc I created.

On that fateful day, my friend, three security officers and a manager stood at my desk and stared at your lovely face which was forever frozen on my monitor. Oh, yes, they did question me and unfortunately they did not believe my explanation. The conversation has been committed to my memory:

SECURITY DUDE: What is that?
ME: It’s a cat.
SECURITY DUDE: That’s not a cat.
ME: It’s a cat.
SECURITY DUDE: That’s not a cat. Cats have hair.
ME: It’s a hairless cat.
SECURITY DUDE: Can you prove it’s a cat?
ME: Can you prove that it isn’t?

Sadly, dear Pal, the conversation deteriorated and I was written up for a “network security violation.” When I received a copy of the report, it stated that I violated the policy because I had downloaded a picture of a “unknown foreign animal, possibly an alien” onto my computer.

I did not fret, mon ami, as this began a series of interactions with senior management that lasted well into the next year. I met many new people and learned that Mensa will never be coming to my office to recruit members.

That was a long time ago and my co-workers still delight in retelling the tale of the “terrorist on the monitor.” After the computer network was restored (about 3 months later), one of the computer analysts made a copy of your photo and printed it out for my co-workers. Your pretty face is hanging on the walls of many cubicles - bringing smiles and laughter to people who have very little in their life worthy of joy.

Thank you for being a part of our lives. I’ll never forget you!