A Holiday Story: The Cat and The Carpenter

At a holiday party in 1987 where I was performing, a lady removed a cat hair from my tuxedo jacket (by such subtle signs do cat people recognize each other) and asked me how many cats did I have? I told her I had two, and we exchanged anecdotes about these remarkable and enigmatic creatures.

Among a group loitering nearby was a chap who could only be described as a giant. He was closer to seven feet tall than six, around sixty years old, hugely muscled, sporting a grizzled mountain-man beard, and looked liked Paul Bunyan's Great-Uncle. He ambled over, one huge, scarred hand cupping a plastic cup of beer as though it were a shot glass, and looked down at us with clear blue eyes beneath bushy eyebrows. He rumbled, "Cats. I never really cared for 'em. Now, I wouldn't go out of my way to run over one if I saw it in the road, but never was a cat person.

"But one day I found a kitten in a box behind my shop. I'm a cabinet maker. I have a shop in South Knoxville. I brought it in and figured I'd give it to my niece or somethin. Her mom wouldn't have it though, so I was stuck with it. Thought I'd give 'im to a customer, but kept puttin it off.

"You know, that cat was purty good company. I made him a bed next to my chair. My wife got the cancer and passed about twenty years gone. I like to read, and that cat sat in his bed. Over time I got used to him bein around.

"About five years ago I made him a little water bed; I figured it would be more comfor'ble for him to lie on. He started to get limpy in the hips, so I built a heater in it. Later I made some steps so he could get up and down on it easier. He seems to like it. He’s gettin pretty old, I reckon."

He looked at his cup, held between his gigantic, scarred hands—blinked several times, looked away. "Think I'm goin to go get another beer. It was good meetin the two of you."

Sometimes cat people recognize each other easily, and sometimes you wouldn’t spot them in a million years. But cats always find someone who needs them, and this is how I heard about a simple act of spontaneous kindness that lead to a lifelong friendship between a grizzled giant and a scruffy little alley cat.

Sometimes, the world is kind. Happy Holidays.