Who would I summon if we had a seance? That’s a difficult question. Assuming in mortem veritas (and pardon my probably atrocious Latin), who WOULDN’T be good to call? Death leaves so many questions unanswered to the living. Michael Jackson (or Marilyn Monroe, or Anna-Nicole Smith, or Janice Joplin, or Elvis, or any of those that died young under odd circumstances), was it an accident or did you mean to do it? Shakespeare, did you really write all these plays, or was it someone else? Lee Harvey Oswald, were you the only shooter or was someone out there on that grassy knoll? John Lennon, seriously, Yoko? Seriously?

If seances were real (and I’ve never heard of one that was), they’d be incredibly useful. Very few murders would go unsolved; very few wills would be challenged. There could always be one last goodbye.

Although I think it best that some things are allowed to *die*, and that some relationships come to an end. Being married several times in a very Southern Gothic sort of way will do that to a girl. I know that there are definitely some people I would not mind never hearing from again, whether in this life or the next.

On this All Souls Day, I’d also like to mention my two fur-children, Midnight and Dusk. They are both male black cats; Midnight is around 8 years old and Dusk is around 2 1/2. Dusk was a shelter kitten, Midnight was an “oops” by a co-worker’s indoor/outdoor not-yet-quite-spayed-but-we-were-planning-to-do-so cat. No matter how they got here, they have been so worth keeping. Nothing makes you feel more loved than a good cat. A good cat is what a dog should be: smart, independent, but loyal to the end, affectionate, gentle, and delighted just to be with you.

Two black cats cross my path every day, but I don’t believe it’s affected my luck at all unless to improve it. I don’t know what I’d do without my boys. Their unquestioning, unfailing love and devotion has saved my heart more than once.

And if I had more space in the house (and if the husband had someone else to help with the litterboxes), I’d get at least one more black cat because since people are stupid and superstitious, black cats are less likely to be adopted. I’d like to give as many black cats as I feasibly can a good happy long and loving life. And I know that when my cats pass away (may the gods delay that day for many many years), they will be followed by a long line of more black cats — the brilliant, insightful, fuzzy terrible toddlers of my world.

They’re currently curled up on the couch, not destroying anything (for the moment), asleep and SNORING delightfully. I love my boys.

So there’s this bizarre idea that I might actually have an entry that only talks about *one thing* at a time. I don’t know where anyone got that idea…