Yes, the title is (sort of) a reflection of the weather... We have had torrential rains all last night and today. The yards are flooded, there's a small stream flowing down what was yesterday our driveway, yet still it comes. "Raining cats and dogs", as the old saying goes. I wondered where in the world that saying came from? SO, I googled it, and came up with this article from yahooanswers.com:
"We have all heard the expression "it's raining cats and dogs." There are several theories about this rainfall saying. It is possible that the word cat is derived from the Greek word 'catadupe' meaning 'waterfall.' Or it could be raining 'cata doxas,' which is Latin for 'contrary to experience,' or an unusual fall of rain.
In Northern mythology the cat is supposed to have great influence on the weather, and English sailors still say the cat has a gale of wind in her tail when she is unusually frisky. Witches that rode upon the storms were said to assume the form of cats; and the stormy northwest wind is called the cat's nose in the Harz mountains even at the present day. The dog is a signal of wind, like the wolf. Both animals were attendants of Odin, the storm-god. In old German pictures the wind is figured as the "head of a dog or wolf," from which blasts issue. The cat therefore symbolizes the down-pouring of rain, and the dog the strong gusts of wind that accompany a rainstorm; and a rain of "cats and dogs" is a heavy rain with wind.
There are numerous accounts of rains of frogs, hay, fish, and grain. All of these accounts seem to be due to tornado-like "whirlwinds." A good whirlwind can lift thousands of pounds and carry objects for miles. There is one reliable account of a fishing boat that sailed into a large waterspout. Fish flew everywhere. There are about seventy recorded rains of fish, but nearly all of the rains of fish are small ones. There is, however, one account of a fish fall in India in which more than ten people picked up fish weighing up to eight pounds each. There are many accounts of rains of ice-coated ducks, grasshoppers, fish, and frogs, but there is no account of a raining of cats and dogs
The most vivid explanation of this picturesque expression suggests that in bygone centuries, the drainage in the streets was so bad that during storms, stray cats and dogs were drowned in the flood that ensued. When the water subsided, their carcasses littered the streets. Jonathan Swift gives us a picture of what it was like in his ‘Description of a City Shower', penned in 1710.
'Drown’d puppies, stinking sprats, all drench’d in mud,
Dead cats and turnip tops, come tumbling down the flood. ' "
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| Moxie, with the "praddy" hat |
But, here at the Ben-David house, we have REIGNING cats and dogs. Namely CassPurr and Moxie.
They are both so spoiled! Moxie knows that if she hangs out in the kitchen with me, she WILL end up getting a treat of some sort. And, Cassie is simply quite aware that he will almost always get his way...
I have to admit, though, that Moxie is generally much more willing to please... She really, really wants "Mommy and Daddy" to like her and to be happy with her. She loves attention and affection; she especially loves it when we all lay on the floor to watch a movie. Like a young child, she has to be in the middle so as to get all possible attention. (Heavens forbid that Mommy and Daddy pay attention to EACH OTHER!!!) Moxie will cooperate with almost any project. She will pose for pictures, help herd the chickens, and patiently wait for meals...
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| "Get this #*@! thing off of my head!" |
Cassie, on the other hand, wanders into the room, looks at all of us, and makes the decision who he will grace with his presence... It's more often Moshe than me. We can't decide if he actually prefers Moshe, or if it's because Moshe is closest to the door. (No sense in over-exerting yourself, there, Cassie!) Posing for a picture? You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me..... (See photo to your right for evidence.) Herding chickens? "I will tolerate them as yet another lesser life form, but that's the limit of my patience."
Patiently waiting for food? Oh, my. Cassie prefers to eat about a tablespoon of food per feeding... about thirty meals per day!!! Yes, the cats and dogs are definitely
reigning, Each in his own magnificent way, just as God designed them to be.
SHALOM Y'ALL - TWYLA
