a question, a proposal, and a favor

Ed had used those words when he had texted me a week earlier.
He wanted to meet for lunch because he had "a question, a proposal, and a potential favor to ask". Being old-school, he wanted to be face-to face, not relying on misinterpretation inherent in text messages or a drawn-out phone call.
The meeting on Tuesday had to be cancelled, due to his medical issues.
Today was the day I would find out more.
Boy howdy, did I!

The question?
He wanted to know if I was still doing any writing.
(smile)
I responded that I am keeping three blogs active, with two having regular postings.
He was glad to hear that. He knew I had written movie reviews for "Good Times" and for "Creative Loafing", once upon a time in the 1990's. I wonder if he ever read those reviews? No matter. On to the next item!

The proposal?
He was getting his newspaper, the Savannah Sports Monthly, started back up again, after a hiatus of several months. Would I be interested in writing local color pieces for it? For pay, of course! He would set up the interviews, I would go to them, maybe have a camera person there, too. Then I would write the pieces, mostly about kids.
He knew he could trust me to write the pieces sensibly, with heart.. and that they would be grammatically correct.
I enthusiastically responded that I would!
This semester will be perfect for that type of work, as I am only teaching the one class at Armstrong. And the job would be perfect for me, as I will need the extra money.
I'm ready to meet more people, too, so that will be a nice way to do so.
Hey! Maybe I can even interview Sue's kids!
Now, that would be great fun!
(smile)

So, two down, one to go.
As it would turn out, those were two softballs, lobbed for easy hits.
The last item was a true hardball, pitched at speed dead-center of home plate.

The potential favor?
Would I keep his THREE CATS while his house was undergoing repairs? It had been damaged in Hurricane Irma when a tree punched through the roof. While that work was being assessed, they found termite damage, too.
He says the repairs will hopefully be done in the next six weeks, two months at most.
Right now, the cats are all together and being boarded at the veterinarian on DeRenne.
It's very important that the cats all be together. They are siblings and have been together since birth. That was seven years ago.
He understood that this was a huge favor...
all the time looking at me with those big, brown eyes...
and he would "owe me, big time"...
but I was the only person he knew that didn't have dogs or children.
I was even "Trish approved", which is a big deal.
I was stunned by the request.
To cat-sit on the cat's own turf is one thing.
To care for cats in an unfamiliar setting, well, that's quite a horse of a different color.
And, to care for three, none of which have ever met me before...
that's a lot of responsibility.
That's certainly a lot of responsibility for me. I havn't had an animal companion since Toffee died in October of 1980.
That's been more than three decades ago.
And Ed wanted me to take on three of his little dears?
I balked.
I could tell he really needed this to happen. The stress of trying to find shelter for Elton, Anne, and Champ was being further enhanced by the Parkinson's.
I told him I would think about it for a couple of days.
And I will...
but I'm not making any promises.
And if I do agree, Ed is going to have to help.
He's already told me that he would clean the litter boxes and he will buy the food and bring their toys and pay me for boarding them.
I'm going to want him to help keep them company, to sit and pet them, to make sure they know they still belong to him.

Now, to give this all a rest.
I think I'll treat myself to a doubleheader at the cinemas. I can see "Proud Mary" at the Carmike for the cheapie matinee price. Then, at the Regal, I can watch "Molly's Game" for free - with my Crown Club points - and have free popcorn, thanks to Paramount Pictures.
Two movies, featuring two strong women - that will be a nice distraction!