OUR MEXICAN PATIO

Mexican homes frequently have an inside patio open to the sky but surrounded by the walls of their house.

We had such a home for a couple of years when we lived in Guadalajara and the photo yesterday shows our friends posing in it.

They weren't the only ones to stand in that same spot.

That is the much younger She Who Must Be Obeyed and Catalyst, aka Judy and I.

There was a potted ficus tree and plants everywhere, watered sometimes by us and sometimes by a rain shower.

There was also a fountain in the center, which our cat Chulapay loved to drink from.

Chulapay (Spanglish for Cutie Pie) was an adopted Siamese, or so we thought.

Some years later I decided she was actually a Tonkinese.

Regardless of her DNA, she was an agile climber and leaper with the balance of . . well . . a cat.

She learned to scale a vine-covered trellis and jump to the upper level of the home.

That led to her disappearance for the better part of a week one time, as she could roam the rooftops and climb down into other people's living spaces.

We had searched the neighborhood, put up notices of the lost gato and asked neighbors and strangers if anyone had seen her, to no avail.

We sadly thought she was gone for good.

Until one day when she suddenly appeared, came down that trellis and nonchalantly inquired if we were going to feed her.

We suspected she got into someone's closet or shed and was unknowingly locked in. 

She never told us and was soon back to her old tricks, looking for a high spot in the room where she could survey her domain and we mere humans.

It's been many a year now that she's gone from our lives but I like to think that she's perched on the highest cloud watching everything with curiosity.

The curiosity of a cat.