Chatham drivers…they can leave you just shaking your head.
Case in point recently for me was heading north across the Third Street Bridge. I crossed, and slowed for the light at Grand Avenue, only to find a white sedan stopped in front of me well back of the intersection, in the left lane, seeking to force its way into the right lane so it could turn onto Grand.
I pulled up close behind it in an attempt to urge the driver to rethink his lapse in judgment. He actually put the car into reverse for a few feet while waiting for someone in the other lane to let him force his way in.
I hit the horn on this one. What in the heck was he thinking? Pal, you are not the only person on the road. Think of the others next time.
And also think about Chatham’s road system. It’s a pretty consistent grid pattern. So you missed your turn; big deal. Get into the right lane safely, turn on Selkirk Street, or Forest Street. Heck, even take one of the laneways to get on Joseph Street and get back to Grand.
Simple.
Instead, we had a poor choice of driving technique.
Cat’s eyes
Our cat, Bob, needed to go see the vet recently. He, like 99.9 per cent of other felines out there, hates getting into his cat carrier and despises car rides. Normally, he serenades us the entire way there and back.
This time around, I think he realized he needed to see his health-care expert, Dr. Nick at Merritt Animal Hospital.
Bob’s eyes were producing a discharge. They were irritated. And his paws were dry and flaking.
So, as we drove to the vet’s, he spoke up periodically, reminding us he was not a fan of travelling in the car.
When we got there, he let the tech examine him, and was also quite polite with Dr. Nick. We left with eye drops and an oral antibiotic to treat his pillow feet (it’s a thing, honest).
The early returns on the treatments are positive – in that he didn’t freak out and scratch anyone nearby when it was time for his medicine.
The drops went in fine and he … uh … ‘accepted’ the squirt of chicken-flavoured medication.
Last time Bob had the eye issue, another vet gave us a gel. It was a huge pain to attempt to administer, as it just hung there as he stared at it. No cat will sit still for long, so his fights led to us getting scratched up pretty well.
Not this time.
The knowledge he’s getting a treat right after the medication has sunk in, I think. He really likes these things called Churus – a pureed cat treat. My wife likes to give them to him every other night, and he’s addicted to the point he starts asking her for them (I don’t speak Cat-ese, but he’s either asking or demanding). And when she goes into the kitchen to get the plate she uses for it out of the cupboard, his monologuing is non-stop until that plate hits the floor with the concoction ready for licking.
