Seven Warehouse Cats

I got called by a man yesterday who acted like I should know him and know what he was talking about. I didn't know either. He said, in a husky drawl, "Well, them cats, let's get started on it then."

I said, "Huh??"

"Well, I guess it has to be done, you just going start on it?" he repeated.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.

"Well, you know Cheryl, your friend Cheryl, married to Carlos you know, set it all up."

I stuttered around, trying to go through my brain files for any couple I know might be named Carlos and Cheryl or something close. I came up with zilch. "I'm sorry. I still don't know what you're talking about or who you are talking about," I apologized.

"So you don't know nothing about them cats at the warehouse or Cheryl or Carlos?"

"No," I pleaded, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, I got a bunch of cats out here, running in the warehouses, and I better get them fixed and Carlos knows you and gave me your number."

I said "I don't know Carlos, but that doesn't matter. How many cats and where and you're taking them back, right, because I can't take on more cats."

"Well, there's ten. Maybe there's 13. There could be more. And we're down here south of Corvallis."

"Ok," I said, "Where south of Corvallis exactly, and I'll come down in the morning and start up. YOu going to pay for the fixes?"

"Well, we might pay for some of them. Here's my cell number and we're down there off 99. Just come on down."

I said, "So you're a grass seed farmer? Do you know Roger?"

"Course I do. Everybody knows him."

"You going to see him anytime soon?"

"Course. I see him every night." I already knew where. Pioneer Villa. They all gather like clockwork, especially Roger. You could set a computer clock by him.

I said, "Tell him hi and you can ask him how many I trapped for him."

"Oh so you know Roger, eh, well how many you catch for him?"

I said, "Try over 200."

"Naaah, not that many!" he says

"Oh yeah," I said, "that many! So it's good you're taking care of these now, before you get like Roger. He'll tell you that."

This morning I caught seven at the warehouse. I don't have that many traps anymore. I took seven traps and caught seven cats within half hour or less. There are more than ten. There are more than 13. But there are far less than 200!

Carlos's wife, Cheryl, works in the same place as the Albany woman, who wrote that letter to the editor, in response to a cat hater letter, and admitted she fed strays and needed help getting them fixed. I got I think 12 or 14 fixed there. So Kelly (from letter writer colony), gave Cheryl, whom I've never met, my number, who gave it to her husband Carlos who works at the seed warehouse run by the husky voice man who called me.