I showed up to my new WWOOFing location, the sunshine house, located on the island of Evia. I journeyed there the day i left my mother in Athens. I didn't know what to expect, the website was clear on what they did, Thai Massage and Yoga retreats but what it would be life to be a WWOOFer? very little. What type of people and or animals that inhabited it? Nothing.
I don't go out of my way to pet cats. i find them a strange breed, i can never be certain of there personalities. is this specimen the fun loving, pet me, purring, attention needing type? Or the hissing, biting, scratching, "i hate people, just feed me, it was never my intention to live with you giants!" type cat? too hard to tell sometimes so i decide to side step the issue and avoid them all together until i am sure what type i am dealing with. So i approached with my normal caution the day i arrived at the sunshine house when i came face to face with a cat sitting deceptively idle in front of the main house door. I had yet to meet the proprietors of this establishment and needed to gain entrance to make my hellos, the door seemed to be guarded by this cat. Damn. i looked it over as it did me, both trying to understand each other without words and or contact. it looked a little haggard in the fading light of the day and i could tell it was old. i decided to step forth and it responded in turn by rising and purring. i sighed a breath of relief and bent to give it some attention, to start our relationship off on a good note. it stayed put and i gave it some scratches and it seemed to really enjoy it. i got to its chin and it seemed to be a lot worse off then i had thought, its fur wasn't well kept and i decided to cut my love short, "street cat" i thought briefly. i stepped past and the cat followed, i opened the door being careful not to let the cat inside although it seemed to really want to enter. i used one leg to keep it out as i poked my head in, smiling faces greeted me and i returned the smile "hi I'm Jake, your WWOOFer? is this your cat?" i stepped inside after motioned to do so and the cat followed. the smiles disappeared and for a moment i wondered if my fly was down or if i had made a huge mistake in not showering that morning, or the morning before. "No, no, no, don't let it in!" the nearest body lunged for the door and scared the cat back outside. The door shut firmly behind me "its our cat but its very sick, don't ever, ever touch it. it has a fungus, very contagious, the spores get everywhere" FUNGUS! Fungus?!? are you kidding me?!? great, i knew it! Cats! Since our first meeting i have avoided it at all costs, indeed we all do, all 40 of us. In the light of the next morning it was clear it had some serious problems with its skin, rashes and boils. i eyed my hand for the next few days scrutinizing every discoloration, perceived or otherwise wondering if it was going to fall off or mutate into some alien arm. Its so friendly and doesn't seem to understand why the people who once cuddled with it now give it a wide berth. or i reason, is it the later of the two types, angry at its confinement, resentful of its life as underling, hating its situation, yearning for freedom and thus doing its best to spread a plague to wipe out the 40 of us? the jury is still out, the cats name is Ghandi and he is an untouchable.
I don't go out of my way to pet cats. i find them a strange breed, i can never be certain of there personalities. is this specimen the fun loving, pet me, purring, attention needing type? Or the hissing, biting, scratching, "i hate people, just feed me, it was never my intention to live with you giants!" type cat? too hard to tell sometimes so i decide to side step the issue and avoid them all together until i am sure what type i am dealing with. So i approached with my normal caution the day i arrived at the sunshine house when i came face to face with a cat sitting deceptively idle in front of the main house door. I had yet to meet the proprietors of this establishment and needed to gain entrance to make my hellos, the door seemed to be guarded by this cat. Damn. i looked it over as it did me, both trying to understand each other without words and or contact. it looked a little haggard in the fading light of the day and i could tell it was old. i decided to step forth and it responded in turn by rising and purring. i sighed a breath of relief and bent to give it some attention, to start our relationship off on a good note. it stayed put and i gave it some scratches and it seemed to really enjoy it. i got to its chin and it seemed to be a lot worse off then i had thought, its fur wasn't well kept and i decided to cut my love short, "street cat" i thought briefly. i stepped past and the cat followed, i opened the door being careful not to let the cat inside although it seemed to really want to enter. i used one leg to keep it out as i poked my head in, smiling faces greeted me and i returned the smile "hi I'm Jake, your WWOOFer? is this your cat?" i stepped inside after motioned to do so and the cat followed. the smiles disappeared and for a moment i wondered if my fly was down or if i had made a huge mistake in not showering that morning, or the morning before. "No, no, no, don't let it in!" the nearest body lunged for the door and scared the cat back outside. The door shut firmly behind me "its our cat but its very sick, don't ever, ever touch it. it has a fungus, very contagious, the spores get everywhere" FUNGUS! Fungus?!? are you kidding me?!? great, i knew it! Cats! Since our first meeting i have avoided it at all costs, indeed we all do, all 40 of us. In the light of the next morning it was clear it had some serious problems with its skin, rashes and boils. i eyed my hand for the next few days scrutinizing every discoloration, perceived or otherwise wondering if it was going to fall off or mutate into some alien arm. Its so friendly and doesn't seem to understand why the people who once cuddled with it now give it a wide berth. or i reason, is it the later of the two types, angry at its confinement, resentful of its life as underling, hating its situation, yearning for freedom and thus doing its best to spread a plague to wipe out the 40 of us? the jury is still out, the cats name is Ghandi and he is an untouchable.
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