Me and My Kitties

Well, here I lay. I’m with my cats.
We’re all just having kitty chats.
Right now, I’m talking most somehow
‘cause they don’t hardly say meow.

The small one is my favorite kitty;
Silky fur makes her so pretty.
I think that petting her is grand
And then she sometimes licks my hand.

I tell her that she’s lots of fun
And how she is my favorite one.
She yawns again and starts to stare.
She might have noticed that I’m there.

She’ll warm my lap and let me pet her.
She’ll stay forever if I let her.
She’s hears another kitty cry
And runs away with no goodbye.

Or maybe she just left to nibble
Several bites of kitty kibble.
Or maybe she just went away
To go do something else today.

Cats are great to have around.
They’re good to talk to, I have found.
Cats love to hear all that I say…
Until they’re bored and go away.

David Satterlee

Finding Love at the Cat House

Lillian Schumacher was, shall we say, on the far side of middle-aged. She had been widowed for the past eight years and was feeling persistently lonely. She hadn’t had any success at all in filling the sometimes desperate, aching, isolated, emptiness that plagued her soul. Her cats were a comfort, but they didn’t take the place of the companionship she had enjoyed with her husband before he passed.

Lillian had certainly done her due diligence. She had volunteered at the local hospital, participated in food drives and bake sales, joined church-sponsored groups of mixed singles, and even subscribed to the big-city newspaper so that she could scan obituaries for recent widowers. Being a woman of reasonably good character and self-esteem, she gave that up about as quickly as her brief inspection of the talent at the local bars.

To put it bluntly, Lillian had finally decided that she wanted a man and she wanted one soon. Fortunately, Lillian was still smart enough, worldly enough and self-possessed enough to tolerate some deferred gratification. “Damn,” she thought, “If eight years isn’t sufficient deferred gratification, I don’t know what is.” Still, Lillian wanted a particular kind of man and she was determined to be as patient and persistent as necessary. But, she had several problems to deal with first.

Science Fiction:Colony Survey Review Report

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Colony Survey Review Report

from the book: Life Will Get You in the End:
Short stories by David Satterlee

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Life Will Get You in the End:
Short Stories by David Satterlee

Hard (I mean really hard) science fiction. What if the development of humans, and our planet, was being intensely observed and regularly adjusted by aliens? What changes would be in our greatest common good? What would the progress report to senior managers look like? 

Colony Survey Review Report:

Sequence = 4116825935-SR
Authorization Request - Primary Summary

Reference Taxonomy:

Supercluster: Dagmark 43K03
Galaxy Cluster: 00012-53977
Galaxy: 00000-04651
Segment: Cantamar arm
Star: 00343-75197/”Sol” (archaic)
Colony: Gamma3/”Earth” (archaic)

Report Status:

Submitted to first available Class-4 Stochastic MentaCluster for actionable directives. All extant data cores of previous surveillance and intervention initiatives are incorporated.

Intervention Urgency:

This report contains strategic and tactical elements with high temporal urgency. Our model indicates that the colony is:
***AT RISK***

Ecological Sustainability ES-50 score = 3.7 PSG (Primary Sentient Generations)

Cultural Development Index = 3.5 [Note: This is a calculated mean and reflects instability, rapid transition, and an exceptionally wide-spread and dense mix.]

Colony Status

Aquatic and surface reserve secondary sentient species remain inhibited by manipulative capacity and forebrain development. 

Rapid and uneven cultural and technical development of the Primary Sentient Species has exceeded expectations and is threatening ecological stability, principally through inter- and intra-cultural conflicts, as well as unexpectedly high demands for geological hydrocarbon and other environmental reserves.

Recommendations

1. Although at risk, this colony is