Michiko’s Thanksgiving Day.

by Sage Lucinda BugBug Milliken

It was a beautiful fall day along the Southern California coast. The east wind was blowing a warm wind out to sea, and making the air crystal clear. The sun glinted on the water as Michiko sat on the rocks and looked out to sea and listened to the other cats in the colony talking. They were all talking about a day called Thanksgiving, and about all the lovely things there were to eat on that day. Michiko had just arrived from Japan on a large boat a few weeks earlier, and she had never heard of Thanksgiving, but the growl in her empty stomach told her she would be more than happy to celebrate any day that had such a feast.

One handsome cat, Mr. Thomas Paws, was telling the others of his younger days, when he had had a home and humans who loved him. He told them that Thanksgiving was one of the most important Holidays, and that it was an All American Holiday. He told the group of the days of preparation his old humans used to make. First the old man and woman would clean the house from top to bottom, for of course, all had to be spotless for the many guests who would be coming for the feast. Thomas loved helping them. He would dig dust bunnies out from under beds where they couldn’t reach, and he would slide across the kitchen floor to make sure it was waxed and polished just right.

Next came the shopping expedition. The two old people would get in their little car, and Thomas would jump in beside them and off they would go to the little neighborhood market where they would order a large turkey, and buy bags of dressing to stuff it with. They would buy a large bag of potatoes which would be made into fluffy mashed potatoes, and sweet yams, and marshmallows to cover them with and golden yellow corn to honor the little old lady’s Indian ancestors, and cranberries and oranges with which to make sauce ,and flour and sugar, and thick cream and butter, which would make large mouth-watering angel biscuits, and jars of oysters for oyster dressing. and too many other yummy things to even mention. Then they would stuff all the bags into the car and head for the pumpkin patch, where they purchased large pumpkins , whose pulp would be removed and made into delicious homemade pumpkin pies.

Mr. Thomas Paws looked at Michiko and smiled, and she smiled back at him. How she loved to listen to him reminiscing about his happy younger days. She was never quite sure that she believed all his tall tales, but she loved him just the same. This time, however, a number of the other cats backed up his story with tales of their own, about the wonderful Thanksgivings they had enjoyed.

Many of the cats in the colony had never had a Thanksgiving of any kind, as they had been born here on the rocks by the ocean. They were called feral cats by the humans, and most of them were quite wild, surviving on fish and what trash they could scrounge from nearby dumpsters, and on the food which the feeder people left for them. It was a hard but happy life, and Michiko knew that some of the cats wouldn’t trade it for anything. However, Michiko thought it would be lovely to have just one Thanksgiving filled with lovely food and memories.

One of the younger cats asked Mr. Paws why his humans celebrated Thanksgiving. Thomas wasn’t quite sure. He only knew for sure that it was a day in which all the humans had been very happy and thankful. They gave thanks for a good year, and good health, and enough to eat, and most of all for family. And Thomas had joined right in, purring his thanks for the lovely home he had, and the good food, the warmth and the security. And before she knew it, the cats had turned to talk of celebrating their own Thanksgiving, with turkey and dressing and all the trimmings.

It was decided to hijack the lunch truck which carried food to all the workers at the compound and along the docks. The truck was always loaded with food, and the man on the truck often gave them tidbits to eat. Teams were formed. Several of the smaller cats would sneak onto the truck when it made its stop. They would then make sure the door was not latched. A large group of the cats would dash out in front of the truck causing it to stop suddenly. A bit tricky, but safe if one stayed far enough away. The third group of cats would be on paw to grab the food and dash as it fell to the ground. It seemed like a good plan, but some of the older cats objected. "Would that be like stealing the food?" they wondered. Others said it wouldn’t really matter, as they were sure no one would miss a turkey or too. Michiko wasn’t too sure, but her hunger drove her to go along with the plan.

Thanksgiving Day arrived and all the cats were at their posts. They waited and waited, but no workers showed up, and no lunch truck either. They didn’t know what to make of it. The lunch truck always came, except on weekends. They were sure it wasn’t a weekend. Then just as they were about to give up hope entirely, the lunch truck came barreling down the docks and came to a sudden stop. The man jumped down and opened the doors of his truck and took out two large old roasting pans. They were filled with turkey and dressing. Then came smaller aluminum pans filled with oyster dressing and corn and cranberry sauce. And last of all, there were three large pumpkin pies covered in the most delicious whipped cream. The man arranged it all close to the rocks and then called the cats to come and eat. "You didn’t think I would forget all of you on such a special day, now did you?, " he asked. Finally Mr. Thomas Paws, bold as always, made his way to a pan full of turkey. Michiko quickly followed him, and one by one all of the cats of the colony came and feasted as they never had before. "Happy Thanksgiving little friends", called the man as he got in his truck and drove away.

Hours later Michiko sat by Mr. Thomas Paws looking out at the sea. The days had grown short, and the west wind was cold, but Michiko was warm and happy as she snuggled near her handsome new friend. And so ends the adventure of Michiko’s Thanksgiving Day.