Laurence Simon: Cat freak, wiseass, class act

I made a little donation to Laurence Simon's Blogathon campaign, held to raise money for the Cat Welfare Society of Israel in honor of Edloe, his late kittycat. I'm not that big on cats, but there's no sense in letting creatures suffer needlessly. Besides, if the Palestinians get hold of Israeli cats, they'll send little Fluffy into a Sbarro in Jerusalem with a stick of dynamite up his ass. I found an envelope on my front porch today. It was postmarked August 13, 2005 and stamped "First Class," apparently to remind me of the stratospheric standards to which government employees aspire. The envelope bore "L. SIMON" in the return address. I opened it up, and inside was a full-page handwritten thank-you letter, accompanied by three 8.5x11 photos of Edloe, three smaller prints, a CD (autographed!) of 100 Word Stories and a "Run a Red, You're Dead" bumper sticker. I thought maybe I'd get a little card. I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed. It's a shame that little acts of kindness and courtesy are rare enough that their appearances merit surprise, but that's the world, I guess. Kudos to Laurence for being a happy giver, a gracious recipient and a gentleman.