C.: d.c, look at this text Ralph sent me. What do you think it means? And is this the song you were going to ask the sitar player to play when we went to the Renaissance festival? Eudora stopped you from holding up your phone with a picture of a lighter on it before you could yell for him to play it, so I have never heard it before..
FREE BIRD
If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on now
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see
But if I stay here with you, girl
Things just couldn't be the same
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird you cannot change
Oh, oh, oh, oh
And the bird you cannot change
And this bird, you cannot change
Lord knows, I can't change
Bye-bye, baby, it's been sweet love, yeah, yeah
Though this feelin' I can't change
Please don't take it so badly
'Cause Lord knows, I'm to blame
If I stay here with you, girl
Things just couldn't be the same
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird you cannot change
Oh, oh, oh, oh
And the bird you cannot change
And this bird, you cannot change
Lord knows, I can't change
Lord help me, I can't change
Lord, I can't change
Won't you fly high, free bird, yeah
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant
Free Bird lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
d.: Yes, Cal.E. “Free Bird is one of my favorite songs. Like most native southerners, I like to listen to classic rock, but the phone thing was a joke. Watch some videos of concerts in which Lynyrd Skynyrd performed, and you will understand.
Anyway, Did Ralph show up for work last night?
C.: No, he did not. Do you think he is overly stressed and now thinks he is a bird? That would be REALLY weird (as well as disturbing, since he is a cat, the mortal enemy of birds!)
d.: NO, Cal.E., I don’t think that is what he is trying to say. Apparently, Ralph wants to leave you and Houston. That is why he sent you the lyrics to one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's two most popular songs (from the album Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd; Songwriters: Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant). Maybe he wants to go back and live with Tom, or he could just want to go out on his own. At any rate, you should not need to worry about your middle-aged kittens.
They would all take responsibility for themselves. Don’t look at this as a cat-astrophe, Cal.E.. See it as an opportunity for your youngest son to try to succeed on his own.
C.: If only they all WOULD take responsibility for themselves , d.c.! I miss T.J., but he is out on his own now. That makes me proud. Maybe Ralph will make me proud as well.
I suppose that I will just need to find another cat that I can train to take his place if he is insistent on going out on his own. Even though he is my youngest male kitten, Ralph has always been a little… different - more independent than his brothers and sisters. I hope he goes out on his own and makes me proud!
d..: And I’m proud of YOU, Cal.E. Just yesterday you were insistent that we saddle up our horses (or, more accurately, your dad’s dad’s horses) when your kittens were all missing. Now, you are willing to let Ralph go and make his own decisions!
C.: What if he makes a lot of mistakes?
d.: He will. We all do. Hopefully, he will be smart enough to learn from those mistakes.
C.: What do you mean, d.c.?
d.: Well, a very wise man once said, “Ignorance is NOT learning from your mistakes. Intelligence IS learning from your mistakes, but brilliance is learning from others’ mistakes.
C.: So, what category do you think you fall into, d.c.?
d.: The second one. I believe that we all need to learn from our own actions. Each person is different. One person may do well in a certain situation, and someone else may not succeed, given the same set of circumstances. Just have faith that you and Tom have raised Ralph to make intelligent decisions. That is all one can do as the parent of an adult child out on his or her own.
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