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R. Linda:
In New York's historic Greenwich Village, there is an old and famous ale house called McSorleys. It be the scene currently of a lawsuit over . . . are you ready? A woman from New Jersey (that says it all right there) alleges being attacked by . . . a cat. Yes, R. Linda, a cat! Now, ordinarily, I would laugh and say, "Oh, and the day is filled with rainbows and pots of gold," but from me own experience with me own cat, Mr. Kits, I take pause I do. Attacked by a fellow patron angry over the Irish footy team, maybe, but a cat? Hum.
The story goes something like this: sometime back in early October, the New Jersey woman was inside McSorleys when a cat came out of nowhere, it seems, and viciously attacked her. Maybe it didn't like she was from New Jersey? I dunno, but she alleges she did not provoke the cat. No one seemed to know this happened, especially the Irish owner until he was presented with a suit for damages. Well, he just doesn't believe it! Being a native of Kilkenny, I be sure the barkeep has seen a lot of bizarre things, as do most of us Irish expats, but this, well no way.
There be a cat there be, but the owner knows that to let it roam freely in an establishment that provides food to the public is forbidden during serving hours. He has made sure his cat is above stairs, so to hear that suddenly his cat is appearing below the stairs is beyond his belief. Meself thinks there must be a Cheshire Cat syndrome where cats can mysteriously appear and disappear in the oddest places by sheer will or cat magic. I don't know which it be or how that works, but from me experience with me own dear Mr. Kits, I be not sure the woman did see a cat. What cat was it if she did? Can she describe the offending animal? What colour was the fur? Eyes -- green, blue, or yellow? What was the cat wearing, a McSorley's T-shirt with the saying "I be McSorley's cat, I be," I wonder? That would undoubtedly give away who it belonged to, or did some vagrant cat come off the street and pop in just to expressly confront someone from New Jersey in a NYC pub?
I must weigh the fact that with lawsuit-happy New Jersey just across the Hudson (all the lawyers live there, ye know), if someone didn't put a bug in the missus's ear and inform her that in the past, McSorley's has been fined for live animals in the pub, and the place was ripe for a lawsuit, so "go for it." But the owner says the cat is in the pub only after hours, and who could fault that? I wanna know. There is even a legend that when a cat sleeps in the pub window it means the spirit of Harry Houdini is out and about inside the pub. It seems he drank there, as did a few other famous personages (all passed on, sigh).
So here we are with a New Jersey woman claiming serious injury from a cat in a pub, and the pub owner standing behind his cat (that's a cool mental picture, is it not?) 100% positive that said cat did not molest or maul any patron of his fine establishment.
Now, my question would be, what was he serving that someone would think they were seeing a cat or having a cat attack? You know those Irish car bombs pack quite a wallop when you're not lookin' they do. Hum, I be so on the fence with this one R. Linda. If it weren't for me own feline miscreant I'd laugh, but . . .
Gabe
Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved
R. Linda:
In New York's historic Greenwich Village, there is an old and famous ale house called McSorleys. It be the scene currently of a lawsuit over . . . are you ready? A woman from New Jersey (that says it all right there) alleges being attacked by . . . a cat. Yes, R. Linda, a cat! Now, ordinarily, I would laugh and say, "Oh, and the day is filled with rainbows and pots of gold," but from me own experience with me own cat, Mr. Kits, I take pause I do. Attacked by a fellow patron angry over the Irish footy team, maybe, but a cat? Hum.
The story goes something like this: sometime back in early October, the New Jersey woman was inside McSorleys when a cat came out of nowhere, it seems, and viciously attacked her. Maybe it didn't like she was from New Jersey? I dunno, but she alleges she did not provoke the cat. No one seemed to know this happened, especially the Irish owner until he was presented with a suit for damages. Well, he just doesn't believe it! Being a native of Kilkenny, I be sure the barkeep has seen a lot of bizarre things, as do most of us Irish expats, but this, well no way.
There be a cat there be, but the owner knows that to let it roam freely in an establishment that provides food to the public is forbidden during serving hours. He has made sure his cat is above stairs, so to hear that suddenly his cat is appearing below the stairs is beyond his belief. Meself thinks there must be a Cheshire Cat syndrome where cats can mysteriously appear and disappear in the oddest places by sheer will or cat magic. I don't know which it be or how that works, but from me experience with me own dear Mr. Kits, I be not sure the woman did see a cat. What cat was it if she did? Can she describe the offending animal? What colour was the fur? Eyes -- green, blue, or yellow? What was the cat wearing, a McSorley's T-shirt with the saying "I be McSorley's cat, I be," I wonder? That would undoubtedly give away who it belonged to, or did some vagrant cat come off the street and pop in just to expressly confront someone from New Jersey in a NYC pub?
I must weigh the fact that with lawsuit-happy New Jersey just across the Hudson (all the lawyers live there, ye know), if someone didn't put a bug in the missus's ear and inform her that in the past, McSorley's has been fined for live animals in the pub, and the place was ripe for a lawsuit, so "go for it." But the owner says the cat is in the pub only after hours, and who could fault that? I wanna know. There is even a legend that when a cat sleeps in the pub window it means the spirit of Harry Houdini is out and about inside the pub. It seems he drank there, as did a few other famous personages (all passed on, sigh).
So here we are with a New Jersey woman claiming serious injury from a cat in a pub, and the pub owner standing behind his cat (that's a cool mental picture, is it not?) 100% positive that said cat did not molest or maul any patron of his fine establishment.
Now, my question would be, what was he serving that someone would think they were seeing a cat or having a cat attack? You know those Irish car bombs pack quite a wallop when you're not lookin' they do. Hum, I be so on the fence with this one R. Linda. If it weren't for me own feline miscreant I'd laugh, but . . .
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| Where's that cat? |
Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved
3 comments:
Did ye ever think it could be a spirit of one of the "famous personages) ye mentioned, materialising as a cat? Stranger things have happened and ye know it.
Now that you mention LOL
Well, listen here Guilette, I understand there once was a cat at McSorleys named Minnie one or something near to it. That cat died and the one in question be a Minnie two. So you got me to thinking that maybe it was the ghost cat Minnie One come back to bite the lady from Jersey. Maybe more than Houdini's ghost be floating around that pub.
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