"TC - the Theater Cat"

Today's piece is about ... a cat.

(Yes, I've lost all reason - but I love that rat-faced, beady-eyed cat!)

TC is the theater cat who came to the theater by way of our next door neighbor - The Bier Garden. (A fabulous restaurant - real German food - and, more importantly - real German Beer!) A litter was born next door and, being cat lovers, we claimed the girl of the litter. (Boys do bad things to carpeting!)

Took a week to get the cat out of detox. (Just kidding about detox, but it did take us weeks to get him to stop craving ham!)

TC - Theater Cat - took a month or so to come out from the hole he poked through one of the office walls. He is infamous in the area. In fact, the first night we had him he managed to escape through the small tiny slit in the office window where he then hung out in the tree that is in front of the theater - meowing like crazy.

The staff at the Bier Garden got concerned and ... called the Fire Department! Yes, they actually called the Fire Department to come get a cat out of a tree.

And ... they came!

Except, as the nice Fireman was climbing up the tree to rescue TC, TC merely scampered back through the window and meowed at the Fireman from the safety of the office.

I heard all about TC's exploits the next day in a city events committee meeting. And at lunch. At supper. On the street. While parking my car and while throwing out the garbage.

TC and I bonded in November during a ferocious Nor'easter. I was afraid to leave the theater in a bad storm. (Of course, the theater had been there for 150 years and had done very well without my protective services!) So TC and I spent a few days getting used to each other. With no electricity, running water and a powerless flashlight.

In fact, we had great fun.

Since then - it's been a bizarre relationship between us. I seem to have added a cat personality to my people persona. (In fact, TC is slung across my arm as I type this!)

During recording sessions, TC has been known to scamper into the session, and, wanting to be part of any musical process, he will pounce across the piano keys, dash through the legs of strings players, or, suddenly appear with his head peeking out through the ceiling leaving us wondering how he got up there.

Oh, yes - that's right - TC is a 'he.'

My wife Susan took 'her' to the vet to get fixed - complete with pink faux rhinestone collar.

"What's the cat's name?" our vet asked Susan.

"TC - the Theater Cat" she answered.

"Hm mm..." he said looking at the appropriate organ. "Well," he continued, "the good news is that there will be no charge for the sex change operation."

"What?"

"TC is a he."

"Him?"

"He."

So, the very cat we didn't want pounced into my life, chewing holes in walls, getting stuck in ceilings, under the stage, activating emergency services and sending un-intelligent emails while he lays across my arm at my desk - he's piece number 12 in the series.

I couldn't be happier!

Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com

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