……they argued perpetually over the relative merits of dogs versus cats, yet he could never come close to understanding her point of view. Cats are loathsome creatures—sterile and implacable and sans emotions—yet she still defended them as though they are affectionate and loving and therefore deserving of unfettered loyalty. She was grossly misinformed about the subject without even realizing it. So tell me this, Reader: Why would anyone with a functional brain love a cat? You could just as easily say you love the Delta table-saw sitting inorganic and smothered in sawdust out in your garage as saying you love a cat. Sure, both objects serve a useful purpose—the table-saw for trimming lumber to size, the cat for catching an occasional mouse when it’s in the mood—but there’s nothing innately lovable about either. In his mind, love and loyalty were interchangeable entities, and he had never in his lifetime claimed fealty to a table-saw, let alone a cat that refused to come rushing up wagging its tail and slobbering all over everything when he arrived home from work at the end of a particularly stressful day. See, dogs are immanently and irresistibly lovable and automatically warm a person’s heart when they do neat stuff like that. And cats? NOOOOO!!!!!…..
Fred's Soapbox 