How Little Clyde Texaco loved the car! How Little Clyde Texaco hated the car!

Little Clyde Texaco loved the car!

He loved to walk upon it, to leave his little footprints spread about the hood.

When the sun was warm, he loved to crawl inside - there to sleep, and dream the dreams
a cat dreams.

Once, on a fine summer day, I drove off to visit my friend, a good person who had done something bad and was now locked up in the state penitentiary. I thought I was alone, but I had not been driving long when I heard a great, yowling “Meeeeoooow.”

I was not alone.

Clyde had fallen asleep in a still car, but now he was awake in a rolling car. Clyde did not like to be in a rolling car - only a still car.

I stopped in Palmer to get a pizza for my friend, then tore off a piece of ham and gave it to Clyde, hoping to calm him. Clyde declined my offer. He would not touch the ham. He yowled loud, just as lady climbed out of a car parked next to us, a car with a dog inside. The lady smiled. Her dog went nuts.

I turned the key, then drove on to the prison.

I left Clyde and the torn piece of ham in the car while I took the pizza in to my friend. Both Clyde and ham were there when I returned. It took 45 minutes to drive home. All the while, Clyde howled and yowled, and scurried all about the mini-van.

He even scurried onto my shoulders and clambered atop my head.

He almost made me crash, four times.

Once home, I opened the door. Clyde hopped out.

He saw that all was calm.

The car was parked.

The sun was warm.

Quickly, he hopped back into the car, snatched up the ham in his sharp little teeth, devoured it, crawled into the back seat, and there fell fast asleep.

Clyde loved the car - as long as it remained still.

Perhaps Clyde’s fear

of cars

was well founded.

This photo

was taken

just as Clyde was growing

into a young stud.

He was forced

to go for a ride.

Despite Nabysko’s attempts

to comfort him,

he did not enjoy 

the voyage.

He was dropped off

in a strange place

and left 

with frigtening strangers,

who put a needle into him,

causing him to fall unconscious

and then one

took a knife to him.

When finally he came to,

Clyde found he had awoken to a world

in which his dreams of studhood

had all been lost.

He did not let go of the dream easily.

Despite what the vet said,

he still marked territory

and sometimes peed

where 

no one 

wanted him 

to...

pee.