1bigblackblog

CATS AND CRADLES

do you remember harry chapin ?

"....my son turned ten just the other day
he said thanks for the ball dad come on lets play
can you teach me to throw ? i said no not today
i got a lot to do . he said hey thats ok...."

when i was young cats were seen in a different light
in cartoons and movies a cat howling or rummaging
through garbage would get a brick or old shoe tossed
at him or her . and in real life cats were owned by
eccentrics and old ladies . i remember a neighbor
asking my father to feed her cat while she was away
the chore was passed to me . the lady was old

times have changed . last night i watched a bit of television
with mom . there was a commercial about an upcoming
program on luxury accommodation for cats whose owners go
on vacation . mom said " yuck ! " and later told me this story

she took the " a " train to harlem and visited a friend
they were teenagers and worked in the manhattan
garment district . the friend had a baby who was
across the room asleep in a cradle beneath an open
window a cat appeared on the window sill . from there
it jumped into the cradle and began to lick the babys
face . the mother ran over to the cradle snatched
the cat by his neck and hurled it out the open window
six floors up from the street

do that today and you will be indicted by a grand jury

harry continues

"....the cats in the cradle with a silver spoon
theres little boy blue and the man on the moon
when you coming home dad ? i dont know when
but we will get together then son
you know we will have a good time then "