Spangler (In Memoriam)

(We lost Spangler to cancer in September, 2020 while passing through North Carolina. She gave us great joy and managed to embrace the transition from a four bedroom home to motor home living like a champ. Our little girl will remain in our heart forever.)

Seventeen years ago, Spangler made the wise decision to meow at us, blinking her beautiful green eyes and making it impossible for us to look away. A year after moving to Charleston with two wonderful, but aging cats (R.I.P. Peaches and Snuggles), we were celebrating our friend Kathy’s birthday when we heard a meow coming from our bushes. “Don’t look at it!”, I told Lynn. “No More Cats!”

Fast forward two months and I’m wrapping Spangler in Mexican blankets in a cardboard box on our front porch on a cold night. As the nights became colder, I’d lay in bed, thinking about the beautiful kitten laying in the dirt outside, probably eating bugs. I couldn’t get her out of my mind…After one or two nights in our garage….she got the run of the place.

Her preference has become Egyptian cotton linen, preferably thread counts greater than 800. Purified water, multiple cat beds at windows with maximum heat from the sun if you please. She’s kept Lynn company on my 1,000+ nights of business travel away from home and when Spangler is not feeling particularly finicky, she sleeps next to my desk when I’m working from home.

Don’t ask about her name….She clearly deserved better – hence her countless nicknames. We realized that when we couldn’t come up with a suitable name for a cat and boat that we had no business having children :). She’s got no idea that her domain of four bedrooms and huge screened porch is about to become a home on wheels. Wish her (and us) luck!