About Me…

I have had many cats and puppies in my life, as I hope you have. My best friend from when I was about eight to twelve was a Siamese cat. I named him Monkey. His antics were comical: jumping onto curtain rods, swinging from a top shelf before leaping to the next surface, running at lightning speed from room to room as if chased by an invisible foe.

But Monkey also had a special gift. He knew my moods. When I was sad and feeling alone, he would jump onto my lap and look into my eyes, purring his loudest rumble. He followed me around the house. When I took him outside into our half-acre backyard, he would go off and explore. There I walked with him to keep him safe.

Monkey was smart. He knew that a family favorite pet, Whitey, was deaf. She exhibited different colored eyes, a blue one and a yellow one. This can often signal the presence of deafness due to a genetic mutation in white cats. Monkey knew more than we humans did and always accompanied Whitey on our daily walks outside. Monkey kept his friend away from the front yard, away from the street, by herding her whenever she strayed from the back yard. 

But two events shook my world in quick succession. My sweet Monkey was killed by a car. Not in the street, but in the driveway of our house.

Days after Monkey died, Whitey was also killed. This time she had no one to protect her when she wandered off. I will never forget the impact that had on me. Animals know so much more, in many ways, than we humans. From then I held my cats more closely, read about them and learned about them. My Dad, feeling my grief, soon brought home two adorable Siamese kittens. 

Monkey and the cats that followed gave me such joy and comfort in my childhood that they shaped my lifelong love of cats. They showed me a way to feel empathy for all living things.

I love learning and writing about cats. Memories fill my mind. They free my imagination to wander and to wonder: just who are these felines? 

Along with my career as a public school Library-Media Specialist, I also served for several years as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. My articles on school library practices have been published in School Library Journal and Knowledge Quest, a Journal of the American Association of School Librarians. From 2011 to 2013 I served on the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the ALA.  When Covid-19 hit, I developed a non-commercial website for American history students to enhance their studies at home: Bloodandblueribbons.com .

I grew up in Riverside, Illinois. Graduating from Eastern Connecticut State University with a B.S. Degree in Education and Shippensburg University with a M.L.S. Degree, I have served as a Library-Media Specialist in several states.

In my new Ebook,  Mews and Views for the Curious Cat Lover, I offer a collection of my research, commentary and personal stories compiled into a volume of about 20,000 words with wonderful illustrations by Tamara Clark, released on October 27, 2025, by Amazon KDP. 

Illustration by Tamara Clark.