This morning, I was greeted by a familiar face as I entered Regency Park via our beautiful patio.
It was my friend the ‘Halloween Cat!’

It is that time of year my friends, and Regency is buzzing with holiday spirit!
You know, last year the cat was in a different location (I don’t forget a face..) over here:

My mind has a mind of its own. When I see this cat, I reflect back on my youth and my amazement with Dr. Seuss’s ‘Cat in The Hat’
I had no idea at the time that the cat in the hat was purely fictional, so I would wonder aloud how he managed to keep so many hats perched atop his head??
It wasn’t until later that I learned to distinguish between fact and fiction. I gotta say though, I’d never again look at the cat with the same reverence. All those hats were a feat of ingenuity and skill when I thought it was real.. But fake? Anyone can do fake.
It was the same for me with ATM machines.
As a young child, I accompanied my Dad to the bank for the very first time and watched as he pressed a few buttons on a machine and money came rolling out!
My eyes must have turned into saucers and my Dad reminds me how I expressed to him in Yiddish (Yiddish is my first language. I didn’t speak a word of English until I was 7 years old) my incredulity at how with a simple push of a few buttons money comes right out of the machine.
He tells me how he educated me regarding the concept that one needs to deposit money before he could subsequently withdraw it from the machine. When I heard that, I was underwhelmed and disillusioned. What’s the big deal in money coming out of a machine, if you have to put it in first!!
Oh, the stream of consciousness of a toddler!!
William James would have been proud!