Recovering The SelfA Journal of Hope and Healing

Animals

Kind Conversation and the Kitty Cat connection

by Patty L. Fletcher

It was Saturday morning, the day stretched before me with grand possibility. The week past had been all but grueling and I was ready for some downtime. My plan was to make a big, hot, strong cup of morning brew, spend a couple of leisurely hours catching up on all the newsletters I’d piled into my folder for the week and then work on fine tuning my website. As usual, I make plans and the universe laughs.

I’d just settled in with my first cup when my text alert went off. It was my tech guy, wanting to know if I could send him some needed log in info so he could do a bit more work from his end on my website, which we’d been transferring from one hosting site to another. Feeling much relieved that he would do the hard parts for me, I readily agreed. But when he tried using the log in credentials I sent, they didn’t work. With an annoyed huff, I put my cup aside and went to see what the trouble was. Had I given the incorrect password? When I checked, I found it was correct but for whatever reason it wouldn’t take. So, figuring I’d just change the thing and move onward, I leapt nimbly through Google’s hoops and thinking all was well, sent the new info off, and headed back to my morning’s reading. And that, was when the laughing began.

When I opened my inbox, I got a request to log back in. “OK.” I grumbled, “No problem.” Humph! Was that a chuckle I heard?

After several attempts at logging in only to be told the browser was not acceptable, I found myself locked out of my account. I sent up an SOS via text to my tech guy and soon he and I were connected and working on what we hoped would be a quick fix. An hour and half later, we were no closer to a resolution and it was determined I’d have to call the accessibility hotline for further assistance.

After arming myself with yet another cup of coffee as the last had grown cold, I dialed in and waited to be connected. I must say, that by now I was feeling rather stressed, my morning’s relaxation was shot to heck, I’d missed a breakfast gathering on Zoom I’d hoped to attend, and as I held the morning flew away and the noon hour came.

Soon, I was connected to a young man with just the hint of some accent I couldn’t place, and I began to explain my issue. However, when we connected him to my computer, he found some of the settings I’d changed to make things more user-friendly for me with my screen reader software made it difficult for him to do what needed done. After some back-and-forth discussion, we were working as a team with him doing what he was able and me following the directions to do what he couldn’t.

After another hour and half, we were almost finished repairing the account when Prince Edward came onto the scene.

Just as the tech assist was finishing the last bit of reset, Prince Edward, A.K.A Sweet Eddy hopped onto the table and putting his face next to mine said, “MURRP! Hello Mother, you know? You’ve been on that phone a while now and I’ve not had my snuggle.”

“Was that a chicken?” The tech assist asked.

“Oh!” I laughed. “No, it’s my cat.”

“Oh.” The assistant chuckled. “Over the phone it sounded like a chicken.” We laughed a moment and continuing to pet Eddy, I asked, “I’m curious. Where are you located?”

“I’m in the Philippines.”

“Oh! I’ve always wanted to visit.”

“You should come.” The man invited. “It’s a very nice place.”

“What did you say your name was again?”

“July, like the month.”

“Oh! How nice. What a lovely name.”

“MURRP! Mother?”

“How funny.” July laughed. “He sounds so sweet. I’ve three cats and I know how the can be. Mine follow me when I go walking.”

As July worked, I told him of how I came to have Eddy, saying, “After my dog passed, I soon found having nothing to touch was…” I trailed off, not sure of the word I wanted. “Lonely?” July supplied.

“Yes, lonely. I found it quite difficult to continue going through lockdown without something to love.”

“Yes, I quite understand.” He answered.

Something in his voice told me he understood well, and I found myself wishing I could sit and chat with this nice young man longer. I found myself curious about who July was, what did he do in his off time? Did he have someone other than his cats to love?

Soon however, the work was done, and we were saying our good-byes. But the displeasure I’d felt at having to deal with this annoying problem during what was to have been my morning of pleasure had gone. Once again, a kind stranger had put me at ease and smoothed away the wrinkles of stress for me, and I am reminded that just a bit of polite conversation can sometimes make all the difference to someone’s day.

This afternoon, as the sun pours warmly through my window and Eddy lies purring in his sleep not far away, I find myself once more thinking about the kind young man who worked patiently with me to resolve my issue with whom I felt connected because of our love for cats.

Wherever he is, whatever he is doing I hope he always has a furry friend by his side and the kindness of others to brighten his day.

For now, this is Patty and Prince Edward saying…

Patty and Edward

Remember to take a moment to speak a kind word to another.

May Harmony find you and blessid be.

About the Author

Patty L. Fletcher lives in Kingsport, Tennessee, where she works full time as a Writer with the goal of bridging the great chasm which separates the disAbled from the non-disAbled. She is Also a Social Media Marketing Assistant. To learn more, visit her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tellittotheworld/.

Share This Page

PinIt

3 thoughts on “Kind Conversation and the Kitty Cat connection”

  1. Can we get some cat pics here?
    thanks

  2. Ernest says:

    See Patty and Edward pictured together.

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to RTS Journal posts

DISCLAIMER: please read

Recovering The Self is a forum for people to tell their stories. Individual contributors accept complete responsibility for the veracity, accuracy, and non-infringement of their reporting.
Inclusion in Recovering The Self is neither an endorsement nor a confirmation of claims presented within. Sole responsibility lies with individual contributors, not the editor, staff, or management of Recovering The Self Journal.
Malcare WordPress Security