[ May 14th, 2002 at 11:03 am ]

Underneath my apartment building we have a large shared garage. This is where I park my car. Drivers must take care to avoid the calcium-enriched drippings from the ceiling which have created stalactites and stalagmites over the years; certain of the parking places are deemed offlimits because of the danger these drippings could pose to a car’s paint. Last night I was hanging out in the garage. I’d not spent any quality time there before, but judging by the cat footprints I sometimes find on my windshield in the mornings, I suspected that a little friend or two might be living down there. Yesterday my suspicions were confirmed when I heard a plaintive “meow, meow, meow” coming from a back corner of the garage. I tiptoed over to investigate. It appeared there was a cat inside a midsize boat that is covered in dust and dirt, and has obviously not been used in many a year. When I walked up to it the entire boat began to shake slightly, and I heard thumps and scuffling noises coming from underneath the boat’s cover. It was kind of an unusual sight to see. The cat stopped talking, though. I wasn’t sure what I’d find if I lifted up the cover… a family of kittens?… a boat-sized litter box?… the Oogie Boogie Man? So I just went away. Maybe I’ll investigate another time.