Looking for Tuxedo
Every day that I’m in St. Petersburg, I walk 8-10 miles. It’s my way of building a mental map of the city, and also making sure that Wolfie is getting plenty of exercise. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve made a commitment to meet and greet strangers along the way, and already, some of them have become friends. This is a story about a gentle soul, who I recently met on the streets, and his ongoing search for one of his cats, called Tuxedo.
Looking for Tuxedo
“I’d been looking for a sign, to let me know that he was okay. That’s when I saw the poster, pasted to a streetlamp. It said ‘he’s in hiding’, and I knew that God was telling me he’s okay”, he said.
This was the third time that I’d met the Catman, in as many days. The first time, I was walking through Williams Park in Downtown St. Petersburg, when I saw a slight man, in his early 30’s, bending down over one of those baby strollers that look like a pet stroller, or a pet stroller that looks like a baby stroller. The stroller was facing away from me, so I couldn’t tell whether it was occupied or not, or whether the occupant was human or feline.
As I got closer, he unzipped the mesh cover, and a cat peered his head out. I paused, because I didn’t want Wolfie to frighten the cat, but the Catman (as he likes to be known) signaled that it was okay for me to proceed. When I drew level to him, I saw that there were two cats in the stroller, and both seemed unfazed with being in close proximity to a dog. For his part, Wolfie seemed pretty unfazed, too.
Because of its warm climate, St. Petersburg has a lot of homeless people, sleeping out in its parks. When I’m out walking Wolfie, I try and make a point of smiling and saying hello. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to be more understanding of the hows and whys behind people living this way. A smile and a kind word costs nothing, and it’s clear that for many of our homeless population, those are two things that they see little of.
I stopped to chat with the Catman for a while, complimenting him on his cats, and that’s when he told me that he had a third cat, but that he was missing. “He’s black, with a white chest and face, and that’s why I call him Tuxedo. He’s been missing for a couple of weeks now, but I know that I’m going to find him. This one (as he pointed to one of the cats, snuggled up in the stroller) was missing for two weeks, but I found him in the parking garage under the Signature building. Someone told me that they’d seen a cat like him, so I went there, and there he was”.
I told him that I would keep an eye out for Tuxedo, and he said that if I found him, I should take him to the local convenience store, and that the owner would keep him, until he was able to pick him up. I sensed that a lot of people care about the Catman, and could see what a gentle soul he is.
A couple of days later, I was up early, to give Wolfie a walk, and to watch the sun rise over the Pier. Although it was still pretty dark, I recognized the shape of the stroller, and that’s when I crossed the street to get an update on Tuxedo. The Catman told me about the sign from God, and then told me that he’d spoken to someone earlier, who had said the same thing. He said that he was reassured that Tuxedo was indeed in hiding, and that they would soon be reunited. I got the sense that maybe the person that he’d spoken with had only said that Tuxedo was in hiding, after the Catman had told him about the sign from God, but I chose to say nothing.
Again, I promised to keep an eye out for Tuxedo, and I started to say goodbye. The catman pointed to a plastic bag that was hanging over his shoulder. He told me that when he’d been talking to the other man, he’d asked about the bag, which was full of food, and had been left by a park bench. The man told him that it had been there for a couple of days, and that he should have it. The Catman prodded the bag, and told me that it was full of sports bars, and other “good protein”. I had the feeling that the man had probably bought those things for the Catman, and this was his way of helping make his life a little easier.
For the last couple of days, I’ve walked through Williams Park, hoping to meet the Catman again, and that he’s been reunited with Tuxedo. As I write this, I’m about to go to the local supermarket and buy some cans of cat food. If I see him, I will tell him that someone had left them near my apartment, and that he should have them.