Catching up

The cat's rules: Now that things are starting to settle down at the Sullivan house (we're happy to report my wife's health has much improved in recent days -- thank you to all who have included us in their prayers), Missy Kitty, the new cat, has decided it's time to lay down some rules for her human keepers.

First off, Missy Kitty has let us know, plain and simple, that we had it far too easy with Miss Kitty, her predecessor. That cat followed our rules, not the other way around. Missy Kitty, on the other hand, has let us know how uncatlike (is that a word? -- it is now) such behavior was. So on behalf of felines everywhere, Missy Kitty has taken on the project of re-educating two humans who may or may not be smart enough to understand that it's in their best interests to give in right away instead of struggling against the far superior plans being laid by Missy Kitty.

For one thing, Missy Kitty knows the wicker chair in the family room is her chair. But she has no intention of sitting or sleeping there. Instead, she has picked a spot on the family room sofa, using my wife's carefully folded blanket at one end as a pillow. So there.

With cooler weather, Missy Kitty has decided that being inside isn't so bad after all, and if it takes staying in my lap to keep her indoor privileges, so be it. But she doesn't have to like it. So there.

Cookie o'clock, Missy Kitty reminds us daily, is not arbitrary. Midafternoon is NOT the same as early afternoon or late afternoon. Humans -- with watches, clocks, the Internet, TV and radio -- simply can't seem to keep this straight. Maybe they deserve the Congress they have. So there.

Delightful weather

Speaking of the cool temperatures, hasn't Southeast Missouri been fortunate in recent weeks to have a couple of low-humidity weeks with low-temperature days and nights? I call it weather in high-def.

When we were in St. Louis during my wife's recent hospitalization, it was August hot and the humidity was as high as the mercury. Nurse Jeanne came in one day and heard one of the tech's say she didn't mind the heat but couldn't stand the humidity.

Jeanne said she had a T-shirt with these words on the front: "It's not the heat. It's the stupidity."

My wife and I got quite a chuckle out of that twist on a familiar refrain during Missouri's summers.

What debate?

There was a dust-up over the scheduling of President Obama's speech on jobs Thursday. He had wanted to speak Wednesday, but Republicans didn't want his speech to conflict with a debate among Republican presidential candidates at the Reagan Library in California.

Did you watch? If so, you were one of the lucky ones who finally found the debate being broadcast on MSNBC. Major networks carried regular (and awful) programming.

Is there any wonder Americans are so jaded by their politicians? If major media aren't going to fulfill their obligation to keep us informed, how are we going to make informed choices on Election Day.

Shame on you, Big Networks, for ignoring an important facet of our political process.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.