The insouciant lounger sprawled out in the picture above, unabashedly taking up a lot of space in a primary pathway of her household, is "Chloe" the cat, which is Greek for "small (young) green shoot of a plant."
Although there are nicknames for Chloe -- Chlo, Coco, Clo-Clo, Clo, Clover -- she just goes by small (young) green shoot of a plant ... Chloe.
For reasons known only to her, she opted to leave her cozy abode at the Woodstock Gardens apartments on North Spruce Street in the city on Saturday (Jan. 18).
Actually the publicly posted flier says Chloe "ran out." Hmmm.
She is described as a tiger cat with brown fur and black stripes, a "very friendly" "house cat," which some Brits call a moggy (or moggie).
The owner -- whose name is Dorothy and who is the bowling partner of the mother of the emailer about the missing pet, Chase Winkstern -- is reportedly "distraught over the situation."
Truth be told, this could affect Dorothy's bowling abilities, which in turn could affect the pin-slaying skills of Winkstern's mother, Dorothy's bowling partner.
Sadly, things could go downhill from there.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, a valued resource for wordsmiths since 1828, tells us the adjective "distraught" means to be "agitated with doubt or mental conflict or pain."
But a closer reading of the entry alarms with the sheer range profered. Oh, yea, it starts off with the mere "agitated" but then kicks into "delirious" then "frenzied" and finally, "hysterical."
The reference work's second definition of "distraught" jumps right to "deranged" and "crazed," and then, as if to drive home the point, simply quotes Shakespeare: "...as if thou wert distraught and mad with terror." (A line from Act 3, Scene 5 of "Richard III" wherein Richard is speaking to Buckingham while both are garbed, appropriately, in rusty hideous-looking armor.)
A positive outcome -- Chloe's safe return -- would, of course, squelch the portent for dreadful escalation.
Any helpful information can be phoned in to Dorothy at (585) 734-4061 or emailed to Chase Winkstern at: chasewinkstern@gmail.com
