One of the wonderful volunteers at Defensa Felina (the shelter from which we adopted Dudo and Moose in May of this year) found a couple of photos of our boys when they were kittens and still with their mother (and three sisters) and emailed them to me. I took one look and fell in love all over again.
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| MOOSE (MUSY). HE’S STILL SWEET AND CUDDLY, BUT DOESN’T LIKE TO BE PICKED UP. |
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| THE BIRTH FAMILY, WITH DUDO FRONT AND CENTER AND MOOSE IN BACK. |
A Musical Mother and a Beautiful Baby
When I was a kid, My-Mother-The-Dowager-Duchess was always singing. She said her voice put her in the category of listener, but that never stopped her from breaking into song. I actually liked her voice. Truth is, I passed a sixth-grade history test thanks to The Duchess. “Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople… Why did Constantinople get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.” Even Old New York, which was once New Amsterdam, was on that test. Music is very instructive.
But, yet again, I digress. One of The Dowager Duchess’s favorite songs for us was “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby.” Only problem: I’m convinced she sang it as, “Oh, you must have been a beautiful baby. But baby look at you now” and not “‘Cause baby look at you now.” If so, I’m sure she meant it is a joke… At least I think I’m sure. (More therapy?)
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ANOTHER THING THE DUCHESS LOVED TO SAY:
“YOU’VE GOT A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE.”
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Back in the 70's when I was singing with "The Young Americans" I did several TV shows with Bing. He was a great human being.
One day during practice his toupee came off. Nobody even suspected he wore a rug.
In one of the shows, he is singing with Caterina Valenti and they go into dialogue…she said: "Bing I learned English watching your movies" to which he replied: "which one" and she said: "Oh, you know, the one where you said – It's a treat to beat your meat by the Mississippi mud" Of course she meant IT'S A TREAT TO WET YOUR FEET IN THE MISSISSIPPI MUD.
During the filming of "The Hollywood Palace" Bing announced: "this show is brought to you in living color by the NBC television network" and the operators in the control booth were seen scrambling because they were set up for black and white…which at the time it was. It was hilarious.
Raulito:
These are really great stories. I really know nothing about Bing Crosby except that he was my mother's, as she describes him "first favorite singer."
How cool to have found the kitty birth photos!! : )
And that isn't the most flattering baby photo ever taken but I'm sure when you were happier, you were adorable.
Jenners:
Like The Duchess said, "a face only a mother could love." (But I really was a cute baby. I guess I just didn't like being held up to the glare of the sun.)
That's just about the prettiest thing I've seen in my entire life. (Dudo, I mean – and all his family.) As my mum used to say when a cat, any cat, sat in her lap – "Could just eat you up!"
Raybeard:
So disappointed you didn't find me to be the prettiest thing you've seen in your entire life. What your mother used to about cats, my mother still says about babies.
I think Mothers are required to say such things so we don't get too full of ourselves.
Adding Moose to my list of potential pet names…along with Lunch and Rubarb.
Writer:
My mother did write and tell me she definitely sang " 'cause" and not "but."
I love clever pet names. We had a friend who name his dog "Unda" (last name "Dog") and his cat "Eartha" (last name "Kitty").
I just melt when you show those photos of Moose and Dudo 🙂 How adoooooorable!
Judeet:
And I can't stop taking pictures of them now. Every pose makes me melt.
Oh look at baby Moose! And look at you with the sun glaring down on you!!
Jim:
And the way I'm being held, it looks like I'm about to be sacrificed to the Sun God. (I think he threw me back.)
I have a face ideally suited to radio coverage.
Up until I was old enough for her to leave home I assumed that my mother was blind and had some sort of skin problem, but then someone told me that she only wore the black glasses and gloves when I was about. Daddy used to just wander into the nursery every once in a while and poke me with a stick. Then he'd growl, shake his head and go back to drinking heavily.
Owl Wood:
I think it was Joan Rivers who said, "When I was born, the doctor took one look at me… and slapped my mother."
You were such a cute baby, but I don't think that photo captures you at your best.
Stephen:
Oh, I think I was a cute baby, too, which is why I wasn't embarrassed to share the bad photo!
I hope you didn't get sunstroke being hauled out and displayed in the full sun like that. Maybe they ran out of flashbulbs for the camera and that was the only way to get the shot. I'm sure if they had shown you being cuddled next to your mom in proper lighting, you would have been adorable "cause baby, look at you now!"
Ms. Sparrow:
You're such a sweetheart. I'm sure my sun-damaged skin is a direct result of that one photo opportunity. Something else to blame my parents for.
It's not how you look, but your inner self people fall in love with. [Okay, okay… looks can help too, and over time we all age at the same rate]
Peter:
Looks can grab 'em but they can't keep 'em!
What adorable kittens! And how wonderful to have a mother who was/is always breaking into song!
Kristi:
It's probably good we didn't see those kittens all together. We might now have five cats, instead of two.
My mother breaks into song at the slightest provocation, and I really have used a number of her songs in my education. (Cities in the Western US thanks to her rendition of "Route 66" is another example.)
In my family, Brother #2 was the beautiful baby, the fact I still am told everytime Father calls
Spo:
I'm pretty sure we were all beautiful babies in my family. Some retained that beauty longer than others (my sister and brother for example remained good-looking).
I recognize that face… I think I have one similar… that you emailed to me. 😉
Nubian:
That is hilarious! I didn't register the similarity until you pointed it out. Separated at birth? (By 20 years???) I still want to use that "similar" photo in a blog post… (???)
Love the kittens! ANd hey, who wouldn't be making a face if they were held in the blazing sun like that!? 🙂
Knatolee:
I'm sure it was abuse. More therapy!