wsfeffer

<img src="http://a873.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/125/l_3e5cf7c40158f35af098492f474bcfa8.jpg"><br><p>Nearly a decade ago I brought home Easy Cheese. He was my the first pet I owned living on my own and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. EC as he would later become named himself. A few days after I brought him home still nameless he climbed up on my couch while I was watching TV eating Easy Cheese from a spray can on Ritz crackers. He looked at me, made a small meow and stood up on his hind legs to sniff the can. When I gave him some he began to purr and I knew that combination of his coloring and his love of the canned cheese would be his name.<br> <br> Cheese has been with me at all four houses that I've lived at here in Asheville. He's been the one constant in my life for the past 10 years. He's been the happiest most loving companion that anybody could ever ask for. A glutton for both food and attention he never failed to make visitors to my house smile. Even my Postman would stop to give him love on his daily rounds. <br> <br> Friday August 1st 2008 at 9:20AM I fed cheese his breakfast for the last time. I rubbed his head, scratched his chin and went off to work. Seven hours later I pulled into my driveway and began to cry. There in front of me laying in my backyard was my dear dear friend and I knew instantly that he was dead. The scene was a grizzly one and the flies gave him no rest as they swarmed over his teeth and the matted fur on his back. My yard attested to the powerful struggle that Cheese put up in his last moments of life. A run for the cat door was visible in the gravel and dirt. The 15 foot circle covered in tufts of fur and scattered earth proving he didn't leave this world without a grand fight. In the end though the stray dog that killed my best friend was too powerful and the happy cheese that has kept me company for so many years is no longer. <br> <br> Easy Cheese is buried in my backyard. As I dug the hole for him I discovered a marble in the clay. A cat eye left by some long ago resident and a fitting souvenir a wonderful cat's life. <br> I will miss him more than even I could have imagined a mere 24 hours ago. My heart hurts, my eyes are still red. He was without a doubt the sweetest cat to ever grace this earth. </p> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA3NTQz"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/79/957ce86e948e58706eaaf12c0c22196d/m.jpg" alt="Look at those spots!!!"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA3NTc5"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/110/a15eb5eeb64e832e098941fb41103d9e/m.jpg" alt="Just a month or so old."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA3NjAz"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/441540bd7fbf4a67056b8af8f192dab4/m.jpg" alt="Mmmm tasty foot."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA3NjM2"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/110/8776f8191295faa126c36752f599579b/m.jpg" alt="What a handsome man he would be!"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA1OTgw"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/57/39969dd4f5ffbd4c5a0481cf6154dc0d/m.jpg" alt="Cheese and Sadie about two and one years old respectively"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA1OTg2"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/91/3f62d222c7d2e9b0ee8348c25a748991/m.jpg" alt="Cheese taking a nap."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA1OTky"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/7/0af78264ef771b6669f11e24ec4a4249/m.jpg" alt="Christmas Cheese!"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDA0"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/42/67d0d12bddeb3928f127b23e0119a58b/m.jpg" alt="Its always about naps with cats isnt it?"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDE5"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/62/3d24a982d8e886a7f125c0672cf2cff6/m.jpg" alt="The happy housemates lounging in the window."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDI4"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/43/b9020bde976a9668fb9e292341e1714d/m.jpg" alt="My fat happy boy playing with a hair tie."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDMy"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/92/51d70e99c40abec60af68e2e57a03801/m.jpg" alt="Cheese in a box? I thought it was cheese in a can... oh well."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDQw"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/103/c1c5d4e8ef72c8d1ab681ec138b401e8/m.jpg" alt="I think he had too much to drink the night before."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDQy"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/29/f554d4f1119494fa4d443160bb9d4069/m.jpg" alt="Cheese and Emma."></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDUz"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/867e1681caddfaa37407dc62bd9a56f6/m.jpg" alt="Last fall guarding his woodpile"></a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdmlld21vcmVwaWNzLm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2luZGV4LmNmbT9mdXNlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXdJbWFnZSZmcmllbmRJRD0yOTIxNzM2JmFsYnVtSUQ9MjAyOTMyMCZpbWFnZUlEPTQyMTA2MDYx"><img src="http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images01/125/3e5cf7c40158f35af098492f474bcfa8/m.jpg" alt="The happiest boy around."></a>