I named a Siamese cat "Inca." She ruled our second-floor flat in Lakewood, Ohio in the early nineteen-seventies. Inca and I engaged in frequent staring contests. I always lost. She had singular concentration and would stare at an object for a long time. One day I noticed her watching the spine of a book on a shelf. After she walked away I went to see which book it was. It was Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." I still ponder that.
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I had another cat in those days. "Jinx" was solid black, a male, and an inherited pet from a relative. He lived for Christmas. His sole purpose in life was to remove every Christmas tree decoration, one at a time. He succeeded four years in a row until one night a truck got him on the street. After that I never let another cat outside when I lived in a city. Jinx looked exactly like one of my current housemates, Rosie.

Here's Rosie (Rosebud.)

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Yesterday morning a tiny kitten showed up on my porch. She was a tiger-striped American Shorthair. As she was crawling with fleas, I tried to avoid her attention. I put a bowl of food and one of water on the back steps to entertain her and prepared a cardboard box for the trip to the humane society. When I called them they said they would not open until early afternoon. I looked for her then but she had disappeared. I haven't seen the kitten since.

I have five felines. Five is enough.

People who allow their pets to roam free out of doors in a city should be sent to detention. Duh. I paid in sadness for the loss of Jinx, because it was my fault.

Every time I decorate a tree I think about him. Karma is real.
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After the crash and the election, there will be criminal investigations covering the economic malaise, with particular attention on the mortgage problems that were a large part of the problem. I don't believe anyone will go to jail, but there will be new regulations. The de-regulation craze is finished. The greed that caused this cannot be rewarded. Oversight must be constant.