Chapter 15: It's A New Year, Charlie Brown!

Tuesday, New Years Day, January 1, 2008

The 8:00 AM alarm was rude.

Maria had fixed a large egg and sausage casserole and tater tots, and sweet rolls. The coffee was ready and we had six gallons of OJ. There was also a large fruit salad for our vegan friends.

The men cleaned, deflated and folded the air mattresses. Then they set up tables to eat at.

I went and got the cat's plates. Fred D. handed me five giant shrimp. We would have happy cats. Then I got plates for Cynthia and me.

We all ate together with Joe S., Nancy, Joe B. and Aina.

We looked at each other and laughed.

"Look at what the dog drug in," Sady said

We laughed even more.

I got up. Someone rang their glass for order.

"I am glad to see everyone survived." I said. "Kit you do throw a mega party! I am still tired."

"We have a squadron meeting at noon. I would like to postpone it to 7:00 PM. Is that OK?"

I got agreement.

"For those of you that are still here, Fred is fixing a nice dinner. Please let Fred D. know if you plan to be here. Fred D. will have dinner ready at 6:00 PM"'

"For those hearty folks wanting lunch there are lots of sandwich fixings in the refrigerator. Please put the meat and cheese back when you are finished."

"Cynthia and I wish you a great year!"

With that I took Cynthia's hand and went to bed in our room. Tiger and Squeaker joined us.

I was woken up by Squeaker screaming for help. Sady had fallen in the pool. Cynthia and I immediately responded. Both Squeaker and Sady were in the pool. Squeaker was holding Sady up. I jumped in and rescued them both. Tiger was repeating, "Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh Shit!"

Squeaker and Sady were both scared but ok. I took them in to the family room. Cynthia brought Tiger. Anna brought Tuffy and Missy. We dried the wet cats. Then I took Tiger to our room.

"Tiger it is over!" I said. "Why didn't you help Squeaker? That is why we taught you to swim. The two of you could have pulled Sady to safety. I know you lost your friend. You almost lost your lover. I want you to think about this seriously. You have to let your friend die and live with the living."

Tiger said, "It was so much easier when I was a house cat. I would have forgotten my friend by now. Being intelligent isn't easy is it?"

"No it's not," I said. "Sometimes it would be nice to not be able to remember. Then of course I would never be able to fly, or cook, or LOVE Cynthia. I am very happy to have known you and Squeaker. You both add so much to my life."

"I have an idea. When humans have problems with memories we get help from a counselor. You and I know a very good counselor. She is Carol Maytag, Cynthia's mother. She might see you. Let's invite her to dinner. You could meet after dinner and see how it goes."

Tiger purred.

I gave Carol a heads-up. She didn't know, but she would be as much help as possible.

Cynthia came in, and I let her in on what happened. She gave me a hug and kiss. She asked, "Could we have swimming lessons tomorrow?"

I said, "That might be a good idea. Sady and her friends need to clear the time with the Union Hotel."

I picked up Tiger and said, "Dinner time. By the way you and Squeaker are invited to the Squadron meeting at 7:00 PM."

Fred D. had put baby back ribs on to smoke before breakfast. They were awesome.

Squeaker and her friends got two ribs each. I won't tell how many Cynthia and I had.

The Meeting

I called the meeting to order. I talked about the overload I was feeling as leader. I decided to spread the wealth and delegate some of the operational functions I have been presently doing.

"To start with Tiger has volunteered to Schedule our weekend flights and locations. Abe has volunteered to be in charge of equipment development and maintenance."

"If you see a need that is not being filled please see me."

"How many of you would like flight training over spring break?"

They all said they would.

"Now for membership."

This group formed of people associated with the Graton Pacific Apartments. We have a request from two of our feline friends to join our group. Should we let Tiger and Squeaker join the Graton squadron?"

There was a unanimous vote to expand the group. Tiger and Squeaker will have to go to school like we did but they can join. They can be getting their jet time with us.

I thanked everyone for the help on the classroom.

I wished everyone a Happy New Year and that they enjoy the next five days off.

"Is there any other business?" I asked.

There was none so we adjourned.

Cynthia grabbed me and hustled me off to our room.

"My dad sold Mat Clemens a nice home next to the Hightowers," She told me. "I'm really happy I married you."

"I was happy, too."

Just then we were invaded by five cats. Tiger moved up close to me. He said, "Tom we have another situation. You know Carol has two connected cats. Alice has three connected cats, In this neighborhood there are ten more connected cats. Six of them are augmented. We demand Feline Liberation."

I looked at Cynthia; then I said, "Who put that bee in your bonnet?" First of all you are free. No one in this house requires anything of you. You can come or go as you please. You are fed with no requirement for any services. We even go to great lengths to assure your comfort and happiness. You are treated as an equal not a pet."

Tiger looked at Squeaker and said, "I told you this was wrong. Now we are going to have to live out in the cold. They can go to the pound and get two more cats."

"OK what brought all this on?" I laughed.

"Oh, Squeaker was reading a book by someone named Hewey Newton. It talked about all of the oppressed black cats and how we needed liberation."

Cynthia and I really laughed hard.

Squeaker growled. "If I have to live outside you can at least show us respect."

I apologized. "What are the ten WE laws and who did they apply?" I asked her.

"I thought they were only for humans."

"Well the WE don't think so. They want them to apply to any sentient life form. I think you qualify as that. As such you need to obey the WE Law just like us. When you were initiated, you were initiated into the WE, not humans. One more thing, you and Tiger are a part of our family. No mater what you do or say you have a home here. We all love you."

By the way the black cats Hewey was talking about were black skinned humans and they sometimes referred to them selves as cats. e.g. hep cats and cool cats."

"That brings up other felines. What do you think we should do?

Should they all get augmented like you?"

"Tom is right," Tiger said. "We need to think about this. We need to think about our destiny."

"My immediate destiny is sleep," Cynthia said. She pulled me down in bed smothered me in kisses and pulled the blanket over us. We went to sleep.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 Black Panthers Redux

Cynthia and I woke to a large cat meeting. There were thirty cats there. I watched Tiger lead the meeting. I also noticed that his mane was really puffed out. Tiger noticed us awake.

Tiger stopped the meeting. He said, "All the cats here want to be augmented. They need the abilities Squeaker and I have. We would like to serve Earth too. We have been talking about ways we can assist. One way is to help with the asteroid defense. We require one fourth the lifting force to get us to space. We know we can be trained to control a space ship. We can help."

I looked at Cynthia. "This is serious. We can not take these cats without their owner's permission. The Augmented cats are right too. They could really be helpful in space. We need to talk with the WE Council."

I called Mom, Dad, Jane, Nancy, and Mary/Fran.

"Tom this better be good," Nancy said,. "I need to be at Teddy's."

I said, "Tiger has something he needs to talk about."

I introduced Tiger.

Tiger had the other cats line up. He requested initiation, augmentation and connection to the WE. They wanted to form a Feline Squadron for asteroid defense.

I was glad I was not on that group.

They were in connected conference for fifteen minutes!

Mary/Fran came out as their spokesperson. "Tiger, you and the other augmented cats have no problem. All of the other cats, legally, are someone's personal property. The WE cannot take property without compensation. You could ask each owner for liberation. It is still up to their owner."

Tiger looked very down. Then he brightened up. "We need to go to each cat's owner and plead their case. Squeaker, will you get Tuffy, Sady and Missy. We have a mission. Jane would you please go with us? We need a controller to initialize and start augmentation on each cat we get permission for."

"I can go," Jane said, "but I can not talk for the cats."

We headed to the kitchen and breakfast.

Squeaker set out thirty bowls and placed a slice of turkey and ten bay shrimp in each bowl. She, Sady, Missy, Tuffy and Tiger served the other cats.

After breakfast, the cats and Jane were off.

Cynthia and I connected. We headed for the pool.

While we swam I said, "We don't have anything we have to do. What is your pleasure Mrs. Savage?"

"Let's go to San Francisco for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf," Cynthia said. "We could take the ferry. I want to see the new De Young Museum. If the afternoon is nice we could have tea in the Japanese Tea Garden. Then we could come home and make a great pot of Stone Soup. How does that sound?"

I gave her a hug and a kiss. Then I dragged her to the car. We were off, by ourselves!

I asked Cynthia to monitor Tiger and Squeaker. By the time we got to Lark Spur Landing they had initiated seven cats. Better yet, no human had turned them down.

We got on the ferry. I went to the bar and got us two mochas. The ride across the bay was outstanding. The weather was lifting. We sat in the bow seats. What a nice ride.

We got to San Francisco. There was a small crowd at the ferry terminal. Cynthia recognized them before I did. It was the press. We had on our Graton Squadron robes.

I decided I was here for fun. I marched down the gang plank with my trusty first mate.

At the first question, "What brings you to San Francisco?" I came to a halt. I told them we were on a special mission. They could follow if they did not get in the way. We would be willing to answer questions as we walked but we were on a tight schedule and needed to get going.

With that Cynthia and I started to walk.

"What special mission?" Cynthia asked.

"The one my wife sent me on," I answered.

Cynthia rolled her eyes.

We walked up Market Street to the Geary Street and the Montgomery Street subway station. We had four video crews in toe. We lost two crews when we got on the 38 Limited Geary line. I gave the other two my talk on the importance of asteroid defense. I suggested that other communities might start their own squadrons. We were only one squadron and UNASA was looking for thirty nine more squadrons. We transferred to a 44 - O'Shaughnessy bus at Sixth Avenue. We lost another crew. When we pulled up to the De Young stop the interviewer looked at the De Young Museum then looked at Cynthia and me. "Is this your wife?" she asked. "Are you here just to see the sights?"

I answered, "Yes and yes." I took pity on her and asked her to tour the De Young with us. We walked through the De Young giving her an in-depth interview of Cynthia and me.

"We were going to have some tea in the Japanese Tea Garden," I said. "I would happily buy tea for you and your crew. Cynthia and I would enjoy your company. We would have some neat photo ops in the Tea Garden." We were able to give her a great interview. "What are you and your crew doing for lunch?" Cynthia asked.

They were going to a fast food place near their station.

"Would you like to be our guests for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf?" Cynthia asked. "What are your names?"

Ying introduced her self, Frank her cameraman, and JoJo her sound man/director. They had missed their noon news deadline so why not?

We went to Fisherman's Grotto. We had a half-hour wait so Ying continued her interview.

We had five Crab Louie salads for lunch. Ying and her crew headed for their station. Cynthia and I took the F line street car to the Ferry Building.

Cynthia had bought five pounds of crab for the Stone Soup.

We were back in Graton by 4:30 PM.

Fran had taken over the stone soup. Mary knew when to just watch. Creativity definitely was Fran's forte. Mary also knew how good the soup smelt. The soup more closely resembled bouillabaisse than a red meat soup. To go with the soup she baked large biscuits.

Cynthia took me from the kitchen directly to our room. Once there she jumped up on me and started kissing. She had me in a double embrace. Her arms were around my shoulders, and her legs were around my hips. She was rubbing her steaming pussy against my cock. It did not take long to get me erect. She was whispering in my ear, "On the Bed, On the BED. ON THE BED!"

I moved to the bed.

Cynthia climbed on top. We were both singing praises to the heavens. Our mutual orgasms repeated again and again. Cynthia finally fell on me in glorious exhaustion. We snuggled until we heard Mary/Fran's call to dinner.

I picked up Cynthia and carried her to the dining room and gently set her in a chair.

Jane and Carol looked at us and whispered something to their husbands. Fred F. and Robert's cocks sprang to attention!

Mary/Fran and Bob M. carried the giant pot of soup to the table. It smelt delicious. Maria brought out fruit and cheese for desert.

After dinner we checked with Tiger, Squeaker and Jane. They had initiated and enhanced all thirty cats.

Mary/Fran and Jane said, "We have competition. The Feline Squadron now exists. We have 18 feline volunteers for asteroid defense duty. We also have twenty volunteers to colonize a suitable world."

"Wow! Congratulations, Tiger and Squeaker."

"This definitely changes our relationship. We are no longer in the same squadron. I notice your mane is well developed. You are now the Feline Fearless Leader. You are now my equal. I like that. UNASA still needs thirty eight squadrons.

"Do you want Cynthia and me to have a swimming class tomorrow?"

Tiger looked at Squeaker, "I thought you would not want to do anything with us."

"Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, You do not remember our conversation in the Union Hotel last Wednesday? I said YOU need to find your destiny. You are not my pet. You are not my subordinate. I hope you are my friend. A friend is the best kind of relationship next to love."

"Your friends need to be trained how to swim. Cynthia and I are able to do this training. If you have more than three trainees we need to have more life guards. I am sure we can get the necessary life guards to train up to ten cats. So do you want to train ten cats tomorrow?"

"Tom, YES I want my friends trained how to swim. Would you train Squeaker and me to teach swimming? I am glad to be your friend. You know about manes."

"Tom, Cynthia, you are in the news again," Dad said. "There is a feature piece on KGO-TV news in five minutes. What have you done now?"

We all went into the family room and watched the news. Ying's piece was being aired. She edited a lot but the piece was very positive and upbeat. She definitely gave the Graton Squadron and UNASA a big lift.

"That was really great," Dad said. "She seems very nice."

Cynthia let on that we had teased her at first. She was the only news reporter that was persistent enough to get the story."

Cynthia grabbed me and took me to bed.

I noticed Tiger and Squeaker weren't there. I went to the family room. They were there. I motioned them to follow me. They did. "Tiger and Squeaker, this is your home and this is our -- Cynthia, Tiger, Squeaker, and my -- room. Please come to bed. Pancakes and sausage will be served for breakfast."

They jumped up on the bed and purred.

We snuggled and went to sleep.

Thursday, January 3, 2008 Swimming Lessons / Slavery Ended

We all slept well. All, except Squeaker. It must have been the visions of pancakes that got her going. She got us all up. It was 6:45 AM. Oh well. Tiger just gave me that knowing look.

We went to the kitchen. Maria had put a pot of coffee on the timer. It was set up to be ready at 7:00 AM.

I turned on the TV to watch CNN News. I was shocked to see me looking back at me!

Tiger looked up and said, "That is YOU. Turn up the sound. What are you saying?"

CNN was running a tease on a piece on the Asteroid defense program. The piece would air in the next hour.

I got the brown and serve sausage out and put them out on a cookie sheet and popped them in the oven.

I found a sack of pecan pieces in the pantry. I chopped the pieces so they were about a sixteenth of an inch in size. I added the pecans to my batter mix. I separated and whipped six eggs whites. The yolks and milk went into the pancake mix as I stirred it. I was folding the whipped egg whites into the batter.

Tiger watched me. Then he said, "I just noticed something. You go through a lot of steps before you even pour out the pancakes. Cats need to observe and learn how to use human infrastructure before we can start to colonize our own planet. Squeaker would be really pissed if we did not have pancakes on our planet."

"I am rethinking our separating into human and feline societies. We need to build up a whole bunch of skills before we can be on our own. We will someday, but not now. Just how to make flour is major undertaking."

"Cats can help in space. We do have talents humans don't. For instance we see in the near infrared, and we see better in low light environments. Rather than a separate squadron, I think it would be better to have a couple of feline members in each crew. Ten feline members need to be trained to be astronauts. We can fly and do other duties on a space ship. We could not presently build one from scratch."

"So can Squeaker and our friends join the Graton Squadron as its feline component? Together we are stronger than our individual strengths. You humans have a word that describes what I am talking about. It is called synergy. The whole is more than its parts. Cats and humans together have synergy!"

"Wow! Tiger, you have developed some amazing insights. I do not know what UNASA will think. They will just have to be brought around to your way of thinking."

"Hey, everybody! Here is that piece on Cynthia and me." We all watched. KGO had trimmed Ying's piece. CNN played the whole fifteen minute story.

Kit and Rick, Jane, Fred F came in along with Tuffy, Sady and Missy. Mom and Dad were followed by Bob and Mary/Fran.

I got busy on my pecan pancakes. Jane and Fred F. set the dining room table. We all got to eat together. I asked if we had anyone interested in acting as life guards for this morning's swimming lessons for the cats. I was looking for three volunteers. We could then train ten cats. I got four volunteers.

Tiger and I shared our earlier conversation about infrastructure and synergy. The council immediately saw the wisdom of Tiger's ideas. The changes were made.

We were really early. Cynthia and I sat and had a last cup of coffee. Tiger contacted two more cats for training, We would train twelve cats.

Tiger looked at me. "What is that black drink? Can I try some?"

I poured Tiger a small cup of coffee. "Do you want cream and sugar? Many people like it that way rather than just black."

I added cream and sugar. "Sip this carefully, it is hot. Coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant or upper. Humans drink it for the stimulant. Coffee is an acquired taste. You probably won't like it."

Tiger took a sip. "Yuck. How long did it take you to acquire a taste for that?"

I dumped it out and filled the cup with milk.

We went out to the pool.

Tiger and Squeaker explained about floating. Then they demonstrated floating.

The test came when the new cats had to get in the water. Actually all went well. We floated, we practiced getting out of the pool, we tried the skimmer recess as a safe haven, and then we tried some leg kicks.

Squeaker demonstrated the kitty paddle and using the arms to control direction.

Everyone swam. We set some life guards ten feet out from the steps. Then one at a time they swam to the life guard and back to the steps. We then had a half hour of free swimming.

Mary/Fran was amazed at how the cats enjoyed themselves.

We all got out and dried off. We went to the family room.

We talked about other water hazards.

Tiger said, "It will be nice when it gets hot during the summer."

"How are Tuffy, Sady, and Missy getting home?" Mary/Fran asked.

"Joe and Anna were going to take them home. What do you have in mind?" I asked.

Mary/Fran said, "I have a need for good Italian food. I was wondering what our other swimmers wanted for lunch. We could take more than one van."

I asked, "Would you all like to take Tuffy, Sady, and Missy home and have lunch? Mary/Fran's treat. I will call for reservations."

I made the reservations for sixteen people and ten cats.

I had Joe and Aina bring the GPA Van and the GPA part of the squadron. It was funny to see us all load into the three vans. We had sixteen humans and twelve cats.

We were a sight as we walked in to the Union Hotel.

"Tuffy, Sady, Missy You're back," our hostess gushed. We have all missed you. I have your table set up."

We followed her back to our table. She had a pile of booster seats. The squadron members helped the cats get their seats adjusted.

We had two waitresses. They brought out soup and bread.

Tuffy whispered something in one waitress's ear. She brought out bowls of shredded chicken meat in olive oil and basil marinade. The cats were happy.

We all ordered off the menu.

Tiger and Squeaker looked at Tuffy. He, Sady, and Missy helped all of the new cats order. Tiger and Squeaker split an order of Veal Scaloppini.

We humans were on our own. Tuffy told me to get the veal. It was fresh and good tonight.

Tuffy was right.

Squeaker ate two Zucchini fritters.

Sady ordered ice cream for everyone.

We had coffee. Tiger requested a small cup. He smiled a cat smile at me. All of the other cats looked in horror. He loaded the coffee with two creams and two sugars.

We all talked about the Squadron. We were really going to be in for it in the next five months. All our classes had labs! They had to be taken in sequence. We had no wiggle room.

The subject changed to the flight training over spring break. In space we would be flying Soyuz spacecraft with three dimensional problems and no wings. All hoped we would get some practice time once we were in space.

Tiger asked, "Where shall we go next weekend?"

We all said to bed!

All ten cats wanted to join the squadron. They understood the necessity for the Astronaut requirements. Their plan was to get their GED and take the aeronautics program at Analy High School. Their goal was to be ready for San Jose State College by June. If Joe could score some more seats and F-16s They might have some of their Jet time completed.

Sady said, she was going to talk to her partner about their plans. If she, Tuffy and Missy could work evenings, they could take the Occidental bus to Analy for classes.

It was time to go. Tiger and Squeaker gave Tuffy, Sady and Missy big hugs. We headed for the vans.

Tiger and Squeaker asked to sit up front for the ride back.

"They are going to have trouble." Tiger sighed. "Their owner/partner did not want them to go to the party. The swimming lessons were a problem too. They want to leave Occidental but their partner says they can't."

I asked Mary/Fran if she had she heard about this.

Mary/Fran was afraid this might happen. "Since this is not covered by the WE Law," she said, "local statute applies. Cats are considered personal property by California law. Tuffy, Sady, and Missy are the property of the Union Hotel. The WE cannot interfere. They even can be euthanized by their owner. This goes for all Smart Cats.

Tiger and Squeaker got a scared look on their faces as they looked at me.

I assured them they had nothing to fear at the Savage house.

"Mary/Fran," I said, "this needs to be addressed by the UN. What is the status of an alien race? Under present law they could be the slaves of humans."

As we talked, we arrived home.

"After our flight Sunday, I've pulled all of my favors for a while."

The Council would meet tonight to discuss a plan for Smart Cats and other sentient species.

Tiger said "OH, OH. Tuffy, Sady and Missy are in trouble. They are locked in a closet. Only two of them are allowed out at a time."

"I can fix this but they will need a home. Squeaker, can you please wait to have your kittens? We need sponsors for each cat."

"Bob please get us a car. We need to return to Occidental and talk to the owner of the cats."

Cynthia and I went in to the kitchen and started to prep dinner. Maria is so together. She had a pot roast in the timer oven.

Cynthia made her wonderful yeast rolls.

I built a coleslaw.

We built two pineapple upside down cakes.

We got the coffee on and the table laid.

All was ready for when Maria, Nancy and Jean returned home.

Mary/Fran and Bob returned with three upset kitties.

Tiger and Squeaker ran out to greet them.

Sady was moaning, "Oh Bad, Oh Bad."

Squeaker reassured them that they were OK. Kit, Nancy, and Sally had volunteered to sponsor them. They had a safe home. They were welcome to the Savage house.

Mary/Fran would not tell us what happened. She said to be thankful that the cats were safe.

We were.

Jane was pissed. She wanted the council to meet before dinner. As she expressed that, the Teddy's crew arrived.

Maria and Jean looked at our efforts and sat down. They had a very busy day at Teddy's. They had served over four hundred meals. That was just about Teddy's capacity. There was always a line waiting to eat.

I took out the pot roast and let it set. The veggies and potatoes went in serving dishes. The juice waited for me to make gravy. Cynthia had a sheet pan of soft yeast rolls. They went in to three towel-lined bowls.

We flipped the pineapple upside down cake without problems.

Maria could not wait. She had to check how things were going.

I was happy to show her the dinner. She didn't say anything.

I asked her if she would she like to carve the pot roast.

She got a smile on her face. She held her arms out to Cynthia and me for a hug. "Thank you," Maria said. "You know I am going to have to buy a set of knives for here too. I did not know what having a professional knife set would mean. I now know why the Santa Rosa JC Culinary Arts Program require their students to buy a set of knives. Cynthia and you have made my pot roast dinner shine." Then she saw the pineapple upside down cakes. She gushed! "You did desert too!"

We brought everything to the table and called everyone to dinner.

Bob had set up a bench on one side of the table for the cats. He said we would get proper chairs for the cats tomorrow.

Tuffy said, "We usually have to eat on the floor. This is nicer."

Cynthia brought out the cakes.

Sally had brought a gallon of vanilla ice cream.

We adjourned to the family room after dinner. Tuffy, Sady, and Missy were introduced to their sponsors.

Tuffy spilled the beans about what happened in Occidental. The owner of the cats did not want Mary/Fran to tell everyone how her cats were being kept. She sold them to Mary/Fran. Then Tuffy asked, "How are we going to support ourselves? We have lost our jobs."

We all looked at each other and smiled.

Tiger then informed Tuffy "We don't have to work, except to keep the house mice free."

"There aren't enough mice to keep five cats employed," Tuffy said.

"What other skills do you have?" Nancy asked.

"We were host and hostess at the Union Hotel," Tuffy answered.

Nancy's eyes lit up. "Would you like to do that?"

"Yes, as long as it would not interfere with school," Tuffy said. "We need to get our GEDs and enroll in the Analy High School Aeronautics Department. We want to be astronauts."

"Tuffy, Sady and Missy, how would you like to work for Teddy's Restaurant for two days a week for each of you? You would have the start up shift from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM. We would pay minimum wage for the first two months. Breakfast and lunch is included on days that you work."

"What's the pay?" Sady asked. "What would we do the other five days of the week?"

"Each of you would work two days a week," Nancy explained. "Teddy's is closed Sunday. We will accommodate your Analy schedule. You will be paid §§ 4.00 per hour worked. Your meals are to be taken on your time. If you come to Teddy's at other times your order for yourself and one friend is half price. You should tip your server based on the menu price and service. We only have one hostess opening. You will share the job."