I delayed my departure for work as long as I dared while looking for la idiota<\/em> but then I had to go. As I worked through the day, I worried about whether she was going to be okay, run over by a truck, eaten by an alligator, mauled by dogs, or killed in a plane crash. (It could happen, she could be standing in a field when a pilot had to make an emergency landing and plopped it right onto her head, killing her dead.)<\/p>\n Coming home from work that evening, Gracie did not greet me, as is her usual custom. That was a sad feeling. The house truly felt empty with Ardis still away and the cat not around.<\/p>\n I picked up the mail, went inside and stowed my stuff, and then came out looking for the cat. Of course, I walked around the neighborhood a bit, yelling, \u201cGracie!\u201d to no avail. So I went back to the house and tried to get a little work done.<\/p>\n It was hard; my mind was not fully with it. I was sitting in the living room with my laptop on my lap (where else would it be?) trying to write. The writing was hard.<\/p>\n I started to surf. I thought of putting a GPS tracking device on the cat so I Googled that up. This is what I found. Check out this webpage: http:\/\/digital-lifestyles.info\/2008\/10\/08\/cat-gps-tracking\/<\/a>. It seems this guy in Britain put a GPS tracker on his cat thinking he would map where the cat goes while away. He was surprised to find the cat routinely traveled about half a mile away on its excursions, even crossing dangerous highways. Obviously, cats are stupid on both sides of the pond.<\/p>\n Suddenly, I heard a \u201cmeow\u201d at the screen door. There she was with a look that said, \u201cHey! Human manservant! Why aren\u2019t you letting me in?\u201d Which I did.<\/p>\n She looked at me and then went right to her food dish. Then her water bowl. Then her litter box. \u201cWhat? You had the whole world in which to dig a hole to poop while you were gone. You had to save it to bring it back here?\u201d I was appalled!<\/p>\n \u201cOh, the humanity!<\/a>\u201d I cried.<\/p>\n Gracie, not too pleased with her new equipment…<\/p><\/div>\n After Ardis came home from grandbabysitting duties, we talked about the event. She came up with a great idea. Not only could we put a GPS tracker on the cat, we could also get her a little helmet-cam. \u201cThat way, we might have an idea of where to start looking for her the next time she escapes,\u201d said Ardis.<\/p>\n I thought of that. Ardis comes up with some great ideas. Like never naming a cat Stella.<\/p>\n Could you imagine walking through your neighborhood and passionately calling out, \u201cStella! … Stella! … \u00a0Stel…la!\u201d?<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n \u00a9 2011 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s nothing worse than walking around the neighborhood yelling, \u201cGracie! Gracie!\u201d Stupid cat. Got out again. Most of the time she escapes, we get her right away. It is a stupid game she plays\u2014she gets out, runs into the yard, … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/joeclarksblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/gracie_helmet-300x199.jpg\" "\\"gracie_helmet\\"")
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