THE PRODIGAL PRINCESS

The Princess in Her Bed Chamber, Jamestown, NC
Princess, Jamestown, NC

Seeing Princess in her bed chamber, one would immediately sense that she is most assuredly living the good life. And you would be right. But she hasn’t always lived the life of royalty provided by my back yard neighbors. She’d been spotted on a number of occasions in a parking lot living in the urban wilderness and struggling to survive on her own. She was apparently living a feral existence in the company of the cast from the musical Cats. After many attempts to gain her confidence, she was finally coaxed off the streets and welcomed into a warm and loving home. By this time, however, she had learned one of the basic tenants of the streets to not trust anyone.

Princess disappeared after a violent storm this past spring. After a few days it seemed that she had relapsed back to a life on the streets away from human contact. And just when all hope seemed to fade, she simply returned with her tail between her legs through a garage door that had been cracked open for her. So, in honor of her return and in the spirit of the return of the prodigal son, the neighbors gathered to celebrate the prodigal cat’s return. Just as the accepting father ordered a fattened calf to be brought for the feast, we celebrated with libation and hors d'oeuvres. Prodigal cat toys were brought in the spirit of the forgiving father who had the staff bring him the best robe and sandals and put a ring on the prodigal's finger. The prodigal’s return provided a reason to celebrate one of life’s little victories.

It has taken the passage of time and many strokes from caring human hands to unlearn the harsh lessons of the streets. But it would seem that those difficult days of living on the edge of existence are slowly being cast into the recesses of corrupted memory files. Princess now delights in chasing the elusive red laser beam. She has begun the slow process of living up to her new namesake and the ultimate creature of God that her staff could see in her before it was revealed. She has now morphed into a lovable creature worthy of being christened a princess, and it shows in her Bette Davis Cleopatra eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eja-popojUo

"But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this cat of yours was dead and is alive again; she was lost and is found."
--Luke 15:32 (very loose translation)