Good afternoon, felinity assembled, especially anyone visiting for the first time!
My name is Friday. I'm a bearded lady cat!
I am the youngest member of the team, at almost 3, and the one with the fewest writing credits to her name on this blog.
A year without a computer did not help in that regard, but, anyway...it's my turn to post as we settle in for Daddy Kiril attending the Cat Writers' Association Conference, beginning this evening.
This post is about Daddy Kiril.
He is a human of many parts and interests.
He has been around animals all his life, mostly Dogs thru the 90's, before his personal and creative lives were forever changed by adopting a Maine Coon kitten he named Nikita, in 1998.
His politics are Conservative, his faith Christian, and we three picked that up from him, but his friends and fans are a varied lot, across the political and cultural spectrum, as are ours.
He found a way to share all of these interests in an entertaining, fashionable, way, by putting 15 Lapel Pins and a couple of buttons on his Stetson.
Hats are a thing in Texas, you see...not just as a fashion statement, but to keep the sun from boiling your head on particularly hot days, especially if you are partially, or totally, bald.
Anyway, more on that in a bit....first, though...
Doesn't he look handsome!
We wanted him to dress in bright colors for the 2 main days of the conference, or at least in Calvin Klein...but except for his undies, that didn't happen.
He found some fancy Haggar pants on extreme sale at JC Penney and a nice shirt at Walmart.
The tie is years old and still looks good, though it has not been seen in public for a number of years.
Anyway, it will do. The badge and dangles allow the Opinionated Pussycat to "represent" and his walking stick/monopod allow him to bring Nikita to the conference as well, as you can see just below where his hand holds the stick.
Now, to the pins!
Daddy is a writer...
A storyteller...
A Poet...
A Journalist...
A Pundit...and more.
As was Nikita...and so are we three girls.
He is a walker...
A photographer...
and Cat Man.
He does not drive a car so gets around in other ways.
He walks and rides mass transit and brings his camera along for interesting photo opportunities, especially of cats encountered on the street.
He has been writing about "Place" for 15 years and explains it this way:
"I like sharing my travel experiences, and my thoughts on the things I see in the world we live in, because it helps my writing skills, and may spur readers to get out and explore their own surroundings."
He is a fan of Henry David Thoreau, and was inspired by him:
"Thoreau expressed the view that “he who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all.”
Well, I wouldn’t go THAT far, in my case, hee, hee, but I do feel sometimes, sad, alone and uninspired by spending so much of my free time stuck at home, unable to get out and about and engage with my outside environment and those I encounter in it, animal and human.
There is so much I can’t afford to do, yet there is much that I CAN do that money is not needed for.
I have never had much of a social life beyond that which my online activities have allowed me to get out and experience over the years and that is a little discouraging at times.
To paraphrase Thoreau: Every walk, mass transit, and bike, ride I take is a sort of crusade, preached by this Kiril the Mad Macedonian, Houstonian, or Cycling Dude, to go forth and reconquer the “Holy Land” of his surroundings from the hands of seemingly disinterested infidels.
Money may buy some bus fare for my Q-Card, lunch or dinner, an event or venue ticket, and some other things, but the leisure, freedom, and independence my adventures afford me come, as Thoreau says, by the Grace of God."
That's our Daddy! It is because of him, and what he has taught us, that we feel our blog is somewhat different and unique in the pet blogging world.
It is a blog that does things in ways unfamiliar, maybe even uncomfortable, to many, especially those unfamiliar with even the most popular precincts of pet blogging and pet-themed fiction and non-fiction books and poetry.
He is also a bike rider and this is another way that he gets around, far away from where he normally walks and bikes.
On his bike he encounters felines on the street that he might not notice while walking.
To quote daddy once more....
"When I walk or bike I go where ever the spirit or even, muse moves me to plan an excursion to, or where personal needs lead me to on a shopping expedition, appointment, or other business.
I can feel just as comfortable in and inspired by, a beach, a park, and on a mountain road as in a mall, a bookstore, thrift store, grocery store, or big box store. Something in an office or at an event can inspire me as well....
To paraphrase Thoreau, again:
There is, in fact, a sort of harmony discoverable between the capabilities of ones’ surroundings within a circle of 10-80 mile radius, or the limits one puts on oneself by mode of transport or lack thereof, & the seven score and ten of human life.
It will never become quite familiar to you."
He believes this will be true of Houston, Harris County, and their neighbor cities and counties, and the state of Texas as a whole.
Daddy Kiril has his own blog, The Mad Macedonian, which keeps him out of our fur when he's not helping us out, here. The link, for the curious, is in the sidebar.
So, there, you go...this is a look at Daddy Kiril.
And, as I said, above...He's all ours! Um, hee, hee!
I hope you found this bit of background interesting.
Ladies, well said. A nice introduction to Daddy Kiril!
Posted by: Flicka | June 07, 2018 at 07:06 PM
I got to meet your human tonight! That was fun!!
Posted by: Summer | June 07, 2018 at 10:10 PM
Daddy just got home and show us the photos!
We loved them!
He said it was a pleasure and honor to meet you at last.
Posted by: Elvira Mistress of Felinity | June 07, 2018 at 11:26 PM
What fun! Thank you for sharing your Daddy with us. We hope he has the best weekend ever!
Posted by: Colehaus Cats | June 08, 2018 at 10:35 AM
Have a blast at the CWA conference. It is THE place to be this week-end!!
Posted by: The Dash Kitten Crew | June 09, 2018 at 01:41 AM
hay ewe galz....we N joyed thiz post bout yur dad !! we hope him hada AWESUM time at de confrenze N we look for werd ta heerin bout it in de few chure ~~~ !!! ☺☺♥♥
Posted by: da tabbies o trout towne | June 11, 2018 at 11:56 AM
Thank you so much for the introduction of your daddy! He looks like a really good caring hooman!
Posted by: Lisa | June 13, 2018 at 04:00 AM
Nice job talking about your Dad ladies.
Posted by: Ellen Pilch | June 14, 2018 at 10:37 PM