Sample Chapter From "The Bumpedy Road"
Chapter 7
Our family had a weekend home
in a mountain town called Valle de Bravo, which was about a two hour
car trip from our home in the hills above Mexico City. This beautiful
Mexican town is situated in a forest, surrounded by a pristine aqua
lake. Many people compare it to a Swiss Village. We didn't even know
that this house existed for over a year.
One
day the Mistress returned from a trip to the United States with two
cat carriers. She opened them up in our favorite sunning room, and left
us alone. Of course our curiosity got the best of us. We sniffed them,
gingerly stepped into them, and jumped right out. After several hours
of close proximity, we no longer were intimidated. Then the Mistress
set our food dishes in these carriers. That act triggered the alarms
in our heads, enough to ignore the food. To our surprise, we were offered
no other dinner, and eventually had to climb back in and eat out of
our cat carriers.
The next
weekend, Canica and I were placed into the carriers and driven to this
weekend home in the woods. It was our second car trip (the first was
when we were adopted and brought home) and we protested with meows and
yowls. Since we were placed on the floor, we could not see the beautiful
scenery or enjoy the black and gold Monarch butterflies that Miss Cassandra
and Miss Ticiana raved about. Finally we arrived and were released from
our cages. Like bolts of lightning, we dashed under the house, where
we stayed all night. Miss Cassandra and Miss Ticiana tried to coax us
out, worrying that the owls or coyotes would get us, but the adults
assured them that we would be fine.
The following
morning, awakened by the roosters, we stretched, yawned and crawled
out from under the house. What beauty surrounded us! We were sitting
in a clearing in the forest. The sun glimmered off our red tile roof
and warmed our coats. We sniffed sweet odors of pine trees, fresh grass
and warm earth. The colors were rich and the morning was sparkling.
We smelled and then saw smoke coming from our stone fireplace. As we
gazed appreciatively at the lovely house, with its tile, stone and thatched
foundation, the Mistress called to us from the kitchen. With high expectations,
we raced up the wooden steps and through the doorway. This was worth
the trip!
After
breakfast, Miss Cassandra and Miss Ticiana put the rabbit leashes on
us and tried to take us for walks. We balked at this, sat right down
and refused to budge. Gently, they removed the leashes and quietly coaxed
us into following them around the yard. With their guidance, we became
acquainted with our weekend home. Soon we were following them down to
the stream which flowed into a small waterfall. We watched as the girls
splashed and played in the water, catching frogs and water puppies.
There we discovered large flat rocks which provided warmth for afternoon
naps.
Canica
and I were now adolescents and curious about everything within our world.
Here in Valle de Bravo we reveled in new terrain to explore, and a fantastic
house with so many nooks and crannies. In the basement we discovered
a family of mice. Early one evening I caught a small one and proudly
carried it to Miss Cassandra, who was playing a game with her dad by
the fire. She let out a shriek as I gently deposited it by her feet,
causing the mouse to run for safety and Miss Cassandra to flee screaming
to the kitchen. Puzzled by the reaction, Canica and I decided that perhaps
they would prefer these offerings dead. But when he took one to the
Mistress, reading in her bed, he got the same reaction. Alas, we no
longer took them these valued prizes.
There
was a farmer and his family who lived in a small house on our property
and watched over the house while we were gone. One fine day, Canica
and I were sleeping in the sun when we heard festive shouts of "Ole!"
We stretched and walked to the window, where we witnessed a most unusual
sight. The caretaker was dancing about in the street before our house,
holding in front of him a red cape, and swaying it back and forth to
attract a calf. This young bull was snorting and pawing the ground and
quite offended with the ceremony. Suddenly he decided to rush at the
cape, which seemed to be the man's intention. More shouts of "Ole" came
forth, as the wife and friends joined in. Canica and I were privy to
a private bull fight!
As the
family realized that we enjoyed our weekend home, they took us more
often. We still protested the cat carriers, and often convinced the
girls to let us be free in the back seat. The family was a happy lot,
and sang songs or played counting games to make the time fly. One song
in particular will always remain in my memory. They called it "The Bumpedy
Road." It was a parody of one the Mistress's family had invented when
she traveled to her childhood weekend cabin. The original song was written
because the road was unpaved and bumpy. My Mistress, her sisters and
brothers and their parents, used to ride in an old pick-up truck over
this road, bumping all the way. She told us the story many times, laughing
at her memories. This old cabin sat next to the Millicoma River, so
after they arrived, covered with dust, they would rush down to the river
for a swim. Then they all had to clean the cabin of mouse droppings
before settling in for the weekend.
The words
"It's the Millicoma view" were changed to "It's a Valle de Bravo view."
They would always sing this song as we came around the final bend on
the outskirts of the town. Everyone would join in the song, even their
American childhood friends and family (remembering it from earlier days)
who came to visit us. Here is the song:
"Now we're on the bumpedy road
The bumpedy road, you see . . .
Oh we will slip and slide and we'll bounce around the car
And soon we'll come to our kitties' bar.
Next King's Ranch will come into view
A great herd of elk we'll see.
It's the Valle de Bravo view
You should really see it too
It's the cabin life for me!"
This would be accompanied by many giggles and teasing, since some of them were pretty much tone deaf and sang off key. But everyone had fun, and we quickly learned the words, and sang in our minds. And we were quiet for those few minutes of every trip, because we cats do like singing.
