It has been a year since I started writing this column.
Whenever we think back, we wonder where the time has gone.
It doesn't seem like it's been a year since I started this trek.
I hope it has been as enjoyable a trip for you, the reader, as it has been for me, the writer.
Thank you for being a subscriber to the newspaper and reading this column.
Writing this column was suggested to me by a friend and colleague, supported by his daughter, one night when we were together at the Pilot Point Coffee House.
I was a bit surprised at the suggestion, complimented, obviously, that these two people thought I had enough to say and in a way that was interesting enough to write a column on a regular basis.
I told them I would think about it.
I called my friend the following day and asked exactly what he had in mind.
Was it to be an Ann Landers kind of thing? Dear Abby? What?
I spent another day or two mulling over his suggestions and the proposition of a column.
I always loved reading Dear Heloise and the practical advice given by her and her readers, who wrote to her with their own practical solutions and suggestions.
Next came the really hard part—approaching Abby, the editor and publisher of the newspaper with my idea born from my friend's suggestion.
She said, 'Yes!” Was I nuts thinking that was the hard part?
Now, I had to think of things to write about.
(There's that silly preposition at the end of the line. Wait, I think it's OK. I think it's part of the verb.)
Not only did I have to think of things to write, I had to do it in a way that the subscribers would want to read it, punctuating properly and spelling correctly.
Egad, what did I get myself into?
I know. I know. I could let AI do the spelling and the punctuating.
Where's the fun or the glamor in that?
I’ve tried to touch on different subjects that are an interest to people from all of the Ranch Cities that this paper covers.
My email is listed at the end of the column so that you can request topics.
So far, I've only had two people request a topic.
One was about friendship and the other was about walking or riding bicycles with safety equipment.
Yes, David, I will get around to the 22 subjects that you suggested I write about.
Those are different than requesting a specific topic.
Requested versus suggested.
There goes AI, telling me that my sentence structure isn't good.
I know. I know. It's intentional, AI. Absolutely proper English is not used when you speak with people.
You just don't get that. Couple of friends, sitting around, talking.
Punctuation uncalled for.
What I've tried to do in writing this column is to write about people, places and events around me or that pertain to our everyday lives, giving some practical advice, perhaps saving you a little bit of money in these hard economic times.
For instance, yesterday I bought eggs at the grocery store.
Jumbo or large? I also watered the tree in my yard with the water I had collected in my 5-gallon bucket in the shower.
Sunday, I watered my house plants with water I had collected in the kitchen. All of these are topics that I’ve written about in the last year. Now for my advice topic for this month. I don’t know if other communities have a feral cat problem, but Pilot Point does.
Before I moved into the house, I had noticed driving back-and-forth on Main and Hill streets that there was a significant feral cat population in the area.
After moving into my pier and beam house, I found that they like to crawl under it, traveling from one yard to another or, perhaps, resting or staying cool.
This year, two of my neighbors have complained about fleas in their yard from the feral cats that hang out there, trying to catch the birds that are fed from their bird feeders.
We do have two dear ladies who trap, neuter or spay, and release the cats so that our population should dwindle.
Unfortunately, I’m seeing more new cats.
I have seen one of the cats capture birds in my neighbor’s yard. This troubles me because cats are hunting the critters that are necessary to our ecosystem.
They’re not hunting them because they’re hungry.
They’re hunting them because it’s an inherent trait and no matter how long they’ve been domesticated, it’s still part of their nature.
Texas Parks and Wildlife considers feral cats to be a threat to our ecosystem.
When was the last time you saw a horned toad in your area?
I do not an advocate for not feeding the cats.
I prefer the cats to leave our wildlife alone where it needs to live and prosper.
If my neighbors want to feed them, I have no objection.
What I do object to is that we, as a society and the city of Pilot Point, are not taking the threat seriously that feral cats can bring.
Litters are being born, spreading the population because we do not have a TNR program.
I know they catch the mice, but they also catch the fleas from the mice that they do catch.
The fleas they carry can cause typhoid fever, bubonic plague, cat scratch fever and tapeworms.
We don’t need our pets being sickened by feral cats.
We do not need ourselves being sickened from our pets.
Yep, those diseases that your pet can get, can be passed on to you.
I don’t have pets so it’s not a huge concern for me, although flea eggs can be left in my yard, but I do care about the health of pets and neighbors.
What is your town or city doing, if you have a feral cat problem?
Can we work together toward a solution?
Please let me know your thoughts.
You can write a letter to the editor voicing your opinion for publication.
Keep it under 300 words. There are instructions on this page of how to submit it or you can email me at the listed email address.
Thanks again for reading and do send me topics that you would like to discuss.
Thank you, friend and his daughter, for suggesting this column, and thank you Abby for publishing it.
Cindy “Mama C” Faris is a Pilot Point resident, and she is offering life advice for any who want it. She can be reached at [email protected].
