Catsterz
these cats are krayz
Printed Book Database
Published Thursday, August 31, 2006 by Jeff.
My book is now listed on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and most online bookstores.
Chapter 1
Published Thursday, August 10, 2006 by Jeff.
Rueben was the high-strung one of the two. His brother Simeon was the more relaxed, reserved, and down-to-earth furry little creature. When looking at them at the same time, one would not think that they were brothers at all. They were quite opposites actually. They certainly were different from all of the other raccoons in the neighborhood. Not to mention the ones that lived in the forest and outlining woods. They were unique. Rueben was quick on his feet and was well-known for being a persistent jabberjaw. He loved to run the mouth and sometimes found himself ranting on without realizing that no one was listening to him anymore and he was left alone. Nonetheless, he was always on his toes and ready to take on any situation (even the kind that would get him into trouble). That was Rueben. A real upbeat critter he was. Some would even call him a challenge seeker. He’d do anything to avoid the everyday humdrum routine that some find comfortable. Simeon, on the other hand, was quite a couch potato at times. He would be content to have no problems at all. “Smooth as jazz” was his philosophy. He just wanted to get through a day with complete ease. This rarely ever happened. He wasn’t much of a risk taker, but he did have a clever sense of humor. Throughout their days on earth, they grew, they changed, they gained wisdom—but not without a few cuts and bruises along the way. Their mother had high expectations for them. While most of the animals would look at them and doubt that they would make it in the forest, time would prove them wrong (and Mother Raccoon knew they would beat the odds). The two brothers may have been the youngest in the family, but there was no question that they had more adventures, more experiences, more trials and tribulations, more laughter, more sorrow, more riches, and more rags than all of the raccoons in the forest. A boring life theirs definitely was not.
Forest City was a small old-fashioned town in Shannontondon County, which was found in the northeastern part of North America. The region was filled with many hills and trees, and some of the streets resembled the ones in San Francisco. It was the kind of town that one visits when going to Grandma’s house for Christmas. The town had only one bus because there was only one main road. The center of town was full of all sorts of stores and shops for all of the grandmas to go to. Woods and forest outlined a good part of the little city in the forest (hence, the name). There were also plenty of rivers and streams that traversed through the wooded areas.
Now, this story begins with a Mother Raccoon who lived in a neighborhood in the heart of Forest City. It was a bitter cold January winter in 1974. The town was laced with a good three feet of snow. Loud, dirty salt trucks pounding on the road was a normal sight. Old men bundled up to their noses shoveling their sidewalks was also a common sight. Below freezing, it was definitely not the proper weather even for people to go walking. Mother Raccoon had five little ones but had not a warm place to keep them. The forest was excessively crowed this year, and every burrow, nook, and cranny were occupied, which made finding shelter unusually difficult. She was so concerned for the newborns’ survival in the unforgiving temperatures that she decided to deliver them to warm and loving homes. Now this was most unheard of among forest critters, but seeing how there was no other way, Mother Raccoon was running out of options and needed to make her decisions quickly. The first three babies were easy. She would lay a child raccoon on a doorstep of a house with a family in it. Then she kept out of sight and watched to make sure the baby was taken in. For the last two of her raccoons, she could not find a suitable home in the neighborhood. Either the homes were too far away for her to travel, or she just did not have a good feeling about them. Her instincts had always led her in the right direction. Mother Raccoon was close to giving up hope until she came across old Mr. Riley’s Fish Market over on Fourth and Polk streets. She laid her last two babies, Rueben and Simeon, inside an old wooden crate just outside the back door, merely hoping that Mr. Riley would find them before they froze to death. Mother Raccoon looked down at her two boys as if it was the last time she would see them and said, “My sons, take care of each other while I’m gone, and always be watchful of predators.”
Just as she said that, she heard footsteps. She gave them both a kiss and vanished as the footsteps got closer. It just so happened that a kid named Jimmy, working for Mr. Riley, was returning from sweeping the snow in the alleyway and noticed the poor little youngsters crying for their mother. He took the crate inside where it was warm and went in to tell his boss what he had found. Mr. Riley stopped what he was doing and made quick steps to the back where the crate was thawing. Mr. Riley’s heart was filled with compassion when he saw these two little creatures with their noses in the air, sniffing about (as animals do when trying to figure out what new things are in the area). Mr. Riley picked up the first raccoon, smelled it, held it close to him, and said in a comforting voice, “It seems to me that you ought to be called Simeon.”
He then lifted Simeon up to his ear as if to get a response; however, there was none.
“Maybe someday you will talk to me, little one,” said Mr. Riley.
He set him down and picked up the other raccoon and did the same with him except Mr. Riley said, “I just can’t place what your name ought to be, but don’t worry. It’ll come to me.”
He then opened up a can of sardines and gave them some morsels to eat, which they wasted no time devouring, not leaving a single trace on the dish. At this point, the two brothers were in raccoon heaven. They had warmth, food, and someone to watch over them. Once they realized how comfortable they were, they started to think about their mother. Where did she go? they wondered. They discussed between themselves her possible whereabouts and how she may have been doing at the time. They wondered if she was ever coming back for them. They just didn’t seem to grasp what was going on. It was not normal for young raccoons such as these to be separated from their family at such a young age. They could only hope that one day they would see their mother and siblings again. And hope is what they surely did.
Mr. Riley left Jimmy to watch over the brothers as he went to go make a phone call. Five minutes later, he returned with a little girl and another big man. It was Amber Pendolin and her father, Mr. Pendolin, who were stopping by the market to pick up an order of tuna steaks. Amber went over to the wooden crate, looked inside, looked up at her father, and said, “So cute!”
“May I pick one up, Dad?” she asked.
“Go ahead. Be careful. They are very small and are probably scared of people,” replied Mr. Pendolin.
On the contrary, fear was the last thing on the raccoons’ minds. They were happy to meet Amber and the big man next to her. Amber reached inside, picked up the chubby one, and laid him in her arms like one of her baby dolls at home.
“That there in your arms is Simeon. He’s a mellow little bugger,” said Mr. Riley.
“I like him,” said Amber as she rocked him back and forth in her arms.
Right when Simeon was starting to fall asleep, Amber then handed him to her father to hold and to take a look at. She then reached inside and picked up the other little critter.
“Oh, I couldn’t think of anything to call that little guy,” said Mr. Riley.
“I shall call him Rueben. To me he resembles a Rueben,” said Amber.
“Yes, that’s a fitting name for such a furry little critter,” said Mr. Pendolin.
“Are we taking them home, Dad?” asked Amber.
“Yes, we will take care of them and help them grow up strong, and one day, when they are mature enough, they can go live out in the forest with all of the other raccoons and animals,” her father replied.
You see, raccoons were not meant to live with people in houses the way dogs and cats do. Mr. Pendolin understood that keeping raccoons in the house for too long could lead to many unwanted damages to property. After all, raccoons have a reputation to maintain. That was just the nature of the animal—getting into things, ripping stuff up, et cetera. The only rules they followed were the ones they made. Sure, the brothers did not know this at the time, but it wouldn’t take long for nature to reveal it to them. Amber was so excited about taking home Rueben and Simeon, her two new little raccoon friends. She kept thinking of all the fun things they would do. She wanted to teach them tricks, take them to school, show them to her friends, and tell everyone about her little critters. She had imagined the span of their whole lives and was already making plans as to how to take care of them once they got home.
Now Mr. Pendolin picked up the tuna steaks from Mr. Riley and loaded them into the bed of the pickup truck.
“To the house,” he said as they hopped inside the truck.
Amber left the wooden crate behind because it was too big and bulky. She decided to hold Rueben and Simeon in her arms the whole ride home. Now this is the happy part when one would expect to see the animals in the story get up and start to sing and dance while everyone else sang along. This did not happen. Nevertheless, they were very excited about going to a new home. They really did not know what to expect.
“What is a house?” asked Rueben.
“Not sure,” replied Simeon, “but I’ll bet you a sausage ’n’ biscuit sandwich that it doesn’t include being out in that snow and digging in people’s trash.”
“Only if you really want to,” said Rueben. “What’s the matter, Sim? Don’t you realize that’s what our kind do?” said Rueben.
“Get out and walk, Rue,” said Simeon teasingly.
They continued to ramble on about such things that young raccoons ramble about. Right under Amber’s nose, without her knowing it, they did this all the way home.
Forest City was a small old-fashioned town in Shannontondon County, which was found in the northeastern part of North America. The region was filled with many hills and trees, and some of the streets resembled the ones in San Francisco. It was the kind of town that one visits when going to Grandma’s house for Christmas. The town had only one bus because there was only one main road. The center of town was full of all sorts of stores and shops for all of the grandmas to go to. Woods and forest outlined a good part of the little city in the forest (hence, the name). There were also plenty of rivers and streams that traversed through the wooded areas.
Now, this story begins with a Mother Raccoon who lived in a neighborhood in the heart of Forest City. It was a bitter cold January winter in 1974. The town was laced with a good three feet of snow. Loud, dirty salt trucks pounding on the road was a normal sight. Old men bundled up to their noses shoveling their sidewalks was also a common sight. Below freezing, it was definitely not the proper weather even for people to go walking. Mother Raccoon had five little ones but had not a warm place to keep them. The forest was excessively crowed this year, and every burrow, nook, and cranny were occupied, which made finding shelter unusually difficult. She was so concerned for the newborns’ survival in the unforgiving temperatures that she decided to deliver them to warm and loving homes. Now this was most unheard of among forest critters, but seeing how there was no other way, Mother Raccoon was running out of options and needed to make her decisions quickly. The first three babies were easy. She would lay a child raccoon on a doorstep of a house with a family in it. Then she kept out of sight and watched to make sure the baby was taken in. For the last two of her raccoons, she could not find a suitable home in the neighborhood. Either the homes were too far away for her to travel, or she just did not have a good feeling about them. Her instincts had always led her in the right direction. Mother Raccoon was close to giving up hope until she came across old Mr. Riley’s Fish Market over on Fourth and Polk streets. She laid her last two babies, Rueben and Simeon, inside an old wooden crate just outside the back door, merely hoping that Mr. Riley would find them before they froze to death. Mother Raccoon looked down at her two boys as if it was the last time she would see them and said, “My sons, take care of each other while I’m gone, and always be watchful of predators.”
Just as she said that, she heard footsteps. She gave them both a kiss and vanished as the footsteps got closer. It just so happened that a kid named Jimmy, working for Mr. Riley, was returning from sweeping the snow in the alleyway and noticed the poor little youngsters crying for their mother. He took the crate inside where it was warm and went in to tell his boss what he had found. Mr. Riley stopped what he was doing and made quick steps to the back where the crate was thawing. Mr. Riley’s heart was filled with compassion when he saw these two little creatures with their noses in the air, sniffing about (as animals do when trying to figure out what new things are in the area). Mr. Riley picked up the first raccoon, smelled it, held it close to him, and said in a comforting voice, “It seems to me that you ought to be called Simeon.”
He then lifted Simeon up to his ear as if to get a response; however, there was none.
“Maybe someday you will talk to me, little one,” said Mr. Riley.
He set him down and picked up the other raccoon and did the same with him except Mr. Riley said, “I just can’t place what your name ought to be, but don’t worry. It’ll come to me.”
He then opened up a can of sardines and gave them some morsels to eat, which they wasted no time devouring, not leaving a single trace on the dish. At this point, the two brothers were in raccoon heaven. They had warmth, food, and someone to watch over them. Once they realized how comfortable they were, they started to think about their mother. Where did she go? they wondered. They discussed between themselves her possible whereabouts and how she may have been doing at the time. They wondered if she was ever coming back for them. They just didn’t seem to grasp what was going on. It was not normal for young raccoons such as these to be separated from their family at such a young age. They could only hope that one day they would see their mother and siblings again. And hope is what they surely did.
Mr. Riley left Jimmy to watch over the brothers as he went to go make a phone call. Five minutes later, he returned with a little girl and another big man. It was Amber Pendolin and her father, Mr. Pendolin, who were stopping by the market to pick up an order of tuna steaks. Amber went over to the wooden crate, looked inside, looked up at her father, and said, “So cute!”
“May I pick one up, Dad?” she asked.
“Go ahead. Be careful. They are very small and are probably scared of people,” replied Mr. Pendolin.
On the contrary, fear was the last thing on the raccoons’ minds. They were happy to meet Amber and the big man next to her. Amber reached inside, picked up the chubby one, and laid him in her arms like one of her baby dolls at home.
“That there in your arms is Simeon. He’s a mellow little bugger,” said Mr. Riley.
“I like him,” said Amber as she rocked him back and forth in her arms.
Right when Simeon was starting to fall asleep, Amber then handed him to her father to hold and to take a look at. She then reached inside and picked up the other little critter.
“Oh, I couldn’t think of anything to call that little guy,” said Mr. Riley.
“I shall call him Rueben. To me he resembles a Rueben,” said Amber.
“Yes, that’s a fitting name for such a furry little critter,” said Mr. Pendolin.
“Are we taking them home, Dad?” asked Amber.
“Yes, we will take care of them and help them grow up strong, and one day, when they are mature enough, they can go live out in the forest with all of the other raccoons and animals,” her father replied.
You see, raccoons were not meant to live with people in houses the way dogs and cats do. Mr. Pendolin understood that keeping raccoons in the house for too long could lead to many unwanted damages to property. After all, raccoons have a reputation to maintain. That was just the nature of the animal—getting into things, ripping stuff up, et cetera. The only rules they followed were the ones they made. Sure, the brothers did not know this at the time, but it wouldn’t take long for nature to reveal it to them. Amber was so excited about taking home Rueben and Simeon, her two new little raccoon friends. She kept thinking of all the fun things they would do. She wanted to teach them tricks, take them to school, show them to her friends, and tell everyone about her little critters. She had imagined the span of their whole lives and was already making plans as to how to take care of them once they got home.
Now Mr. Pendolin picked up the tuna steaks from Mr. Riley and loaded them into the bed of the pickup truck.
“To the house,” he said as they hopped inside the truck.
Amber left the wooden crate behind because it was too big and bulky. She decided to hold Rueben and Simeon in her arms the whole ride home. Now this is the happy part when one would expect to see the animals in the story get up and start to sing and dance while everyone else sang along. This did not happen. Nevertheless, they were very excited about going to a new home. They really did not know what to expect.
“What is a house?” asked Rueben.
“Not sure,” replied Simeon, “but I’ll bet you a sausage ’n’ biscuit sandwich that it doesn’t include being out in that snow and digging in people’s trash.”
“Only if you really want to,” said Rueben. “What’s the matter, Sim? Don’t you realize that’s what our kind do?” said Rueben.
“Get out and walk, Rue,” said Simeon teasingly.
They continued to ramble on about such things that young raccoons ramble about. Right under Amber’s nose, without her knowing it, they did this all the way home.
About me
- I'm Jeff
- From Waukegan, Illinois, United States
- I first discovered the joy of writing during a typing class I took in high school. When the teacher instructed the class to practice their typing, I practiced by typing out brief amusing little stories to entertain myself. The Critters of Forest City idea was dreamt up in 2000 and the characters and story have been marinating in my mind for five years. I enjoy working with audio/visual arts, writing and filmmaking and have participated in live stage productions within the churches of my ministry. I was born in Washington D.C., grew up in Memphis and currently live in the Chicagoland area. I'm part of an outreach of Christian Fellowship Church Ministry International, located in Lake County. (Please visit www.cfcmi.org.)
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