Captain Crunch belonged to friends of Aunt Mel’s. Captain Crunch lived in their barn. His job was to control the mouse population. He was very good at his job despite a significant handicap.
Captain Crunch only had one eye. When he was a kitten, he fought with a raccoon who scratched out his eye. But missing an eye had no effect whatsoever on Captain Crunch’s ability to hunt.
Aunt Mel’s friends sold their farm and were moving to a new home that had no room for a barn cat. Aunt Mel was happy to offer a home to Captain Crunch. When you live in the country, a good mouse hunter is an asset on any farm.
Captain Crunch moved to Aunt Mel’s house and lived in the barn with the horses. He was already an old cat, but for many years he did a great job of controlling the mice and rats. And every morning he followed Aunt Mel while she fed the horses. He was a big helper around the barn. He was always nearby keeping his one good eye on everything.
The last time Aunt Mel was Captain Crunch was a summer morning. He ran to meet her in the morning and wanted to be picked up. Aunt Mel carried the purring cat to the barn and as usual, he followed her around supervising the morning chores. Aunt Mel scratched his back and told him he was a good kitty. She went back to the house to get ready to work.
Life is hard in the country. Often pets disappear with no apparent reason. Sometimes they are sick and go off to be alone, sometimes the coyotes eat the cats. You do what you can to make a good life for the farm animals and hope that in the end, they do not suffer.
Something happened that Captain Crunch disappeared that day and it mad Aunt Mel very sad. Captain Crunch was a very sweet cat who had a very happy life living in a barn and chasing mice. Missing an eye had no effect on his joyful outlook on life. He never felt sorry for himself. We could all learn a lesson from Captain Crunch’s example – one should be positive and enjoy life despite a physical limitation.
Aunt Mel noticed that her neighbors had two new kittens. One was black, the other black and white. The black kitten was always chasing the black and white kitten around the neighbor’s yard.
One night, Aunt Mel came home from work and noticed the black and white kitten hiding along the fence line in the honey suckle. She got out of the car and called “kitty, kitty”, the cat just looked at her.
The next night when Aunt Mel came home from work, the black and white kitten was sitting under the front porch. Again, she called “kitty, kitty” but he just looked at her.
The third night, Aunt Mel came home from work and was watching for the kitten but he was nowhere to be found. She guessed that he finally went home. Aunt Mel went in the house to change her clothes. She walked into her bedroom and there sleeping on her pillow was the black and white kitten. She softly called “kitty, kitty”. The cat opened his eyes, meowed, stretched and came over to rub on Aunt Mel’s legs.
Aunt Mel thought the black and white kitten had finally gone home after three days of loitering in her yard. But she guessed wrong! The black and white kitten had changed his address and decided it was better to live at Aunt Mel’s farm than next door being chased by the black kitten.
Aunt Mel named the kitten, Timmy. He was a small cat, much smaller than the other cats at Aunt Mel’s Farm. But his size was a contradiction to his personality. Timmy would soon earn the nickname “The Terminator”.
When Aunt Mel was a child, she begged for a horse but never got one of her own. So when she graduated from college and got her first job, the first thing she bought was a horse – GiGi.
Aunt Mel’s friend, Lisa, grew up on a big horse farm. Her family bred and showed prize Arabian horses. One day, Lisa took Aunt Mel to one of the big pastures behind the riding ring. It was full of baby horses that had just been weaned from their mothers. They would live together for about a year, growing into mature horses until they were old enough to train for the shows. Lisa pointed out a delicate brown speckled baby and said she could be mine for a special “friend’s discount”. Aunt Mel fell in love.
GiGi was the baby of Lisa’s National Park Horse Arabian mare. She was bred to a famous stallion with the hope of having a large baby. But GiGi was born small and delicate – not the type of horse that the show crowd really wanted. But her delicate features suited Aunt Mel just fine. And it turns out that being dainty in appearance would have absolutely no bearing on GiGi’s personality. From day one, GiGi claimed her status as “top mare”. She was the boss over every horse she encountered. GiGi had very clear rules about behavior and hierarchy and she would reign her opinion on everyone including, sometimes, Aunt Mel.
GiGi lived at a few different farms until Aunt Mel purchased her own. GiGi was as happy as Aunt Mel to have a permanent home with a walk-in barn, grassy pastures and a big oak tree perfectly suited for afternoon naps in the shade.
Lyndon was an unexpected addition to Aunt Mel’s farm. One morning Aunt Mel woke to find this huge, black hairy pig building a nest in her flower garden. When she approached the busy pig, it would squeal loudly and stomp on the plants. Aunt Mel was terrified. She went in the house and called Animal Control.
A few hours later the Animal Control officer arrived. He was a tall, lanky fella that didn’t even weigh as much as Aunt Mel. He assessed the pig situation and informed Aunt Mel that he couldn’t possibly move that huge pig by himself. He promised to return the next morning with additional help. That was the last time Aunt Mel saw the Animal Control officer. He never came back for the pig and he never returned Aunt Mel’s phone calls. Aunt Mel was very upset but the pig was very happy in his garden nest of flowers.
Aunt Mel called everyone she could think of to ask about pigs. She didn’t know anything about them – what do does a pig eat besides the garden flowers? Why is it so loud when you approach it? Was it going to attack Aunt Mel or the other animals? Would it leave on it’s own? No one had helpful answers but lots of friends had bad jokes; “the only good pig is one covered with BBQ sauce” or “call Oscar Myer, they might want him”. Funny friends.
After a week, Aunt Mel gave up trying to get someone to take the pig. She figured he made his way to her farm for some reason, though she couldn’t imagine what it would be. For the time being, she abandoned the flower garden to the pig and tried to politely steer clear of his nest. The pig was just fine with that arrangement.
Alex was that once in a lifetime, very special dog. And how Alex came to be part of Aunt Mel’s life is also special. Aunt Mel and her boyfriend Chris decided they wanted to get a dog. Chris liked to duck hunt so he wanted to find a black lab puppy. So they began to inquire about available puppies.
One of Chris’s friends, Lester, called to say his old lab dog just gave birth to three puppies and did we want one? This was her last litter and Lester was sad that all the pups were black. His old lab had seven previous litters and Lester wanted a yellow pup. Despite different colored daddies, every puppy came out black. And such was the case with this litter of three all black puppies, two males and one female. Chris wanted a male. Lester picked the smartest pup and tied a string around his neck so we could identify our puppy.
A few weeks later, the pups were old enough to leave their mother. Chris and Aunt Mel drive nine hours to Alexandria, Louisiana for their new puppy. When they arrived at Lester’s home, the mamma lab and two puppies ran to the car to meet them. But the puppy with the string around his neck was missing. Lester called but the puppy did not come. A search of the yard ensued but the third puppy was nowhere to be found.
Then Lester heard something under the house. He crawled under the floor and pulled the yelping puppy out by his tale. He placed the squirming pup in Chris’s arms. “Here is YOUR dog”.
Aunt Mel and Chris named the puppy on the spot – Alex. It was the perfect name for this chubby, peculiar black Lab puppy. All the way back to Atlanta, Alex slept on Aunt Mel’s lap. Aunt Mel and Chris were very happy.
Whitey is a huge, white cat with brilliant blue eyes. And he is completely deaf. Whitey doesn’t hear a thing but this handicap does nothing to deter him from his singular goal in life – to catch a bird. Whitey spends hours sitting below the wild bird feeder hunting birds and he never, ever catches one. He doesn’t even come close.
Whitey jumps in the air to catch the birds as they approach the feeder, but he’s too fat to jump high enough to snag one. He hides in the flowers and tries to stalk the birds, but he’s white and easy to see. The birds can see him from miles away and aren’t fooled by his attempt at camouflage. Despite every failed attempt, Whitey enthusiastically tries again and again to catch a bird, just one.
One morning Aunt Mel was feeding the horses and Whitey was hiding behind the water tub stalking wild birds. There was a sudden flash of white as Whitey raced to the corner of the pasture. Aunt Mel turned and couldn’t believe her eyes. Whitey had a bird in his mouth! He did it! Whitey caught a bird! But wait…. what kind of bird is that?
Aunt Mel dropped the feed bucket and ran over to Whitey for a better look. As she neared, the bird got away and flew a few feet to the fence. What the heck kind of bird is that? Aunt Mel slowly walked toward the bird when Whitey raced past her, leaped onto the fence and caught the bird again. Unbelievable! Aunt Mel knew something was wrong with this stupid bird that Whitey could catch it twice. She grabbed Whitey and pulled the bird out of his mouth. It wasn’t a wild bird at all. It was some sort of a parrot – a pet bird. No wonder it could get caught twice by the worst bird hunter in the world – it was a pet and had no sense of survival like the wild birds.
The bird was not injured so Aunt Mel brought it into the house and put it in a large pet carrier. She goggled birds until she found a photo identifying the breed. A cockatiel. How about that? Whitey McFly finally caught a bird and it was the best bird any of the cats ever caught – a new pet for Aunt Mel’s farm. The bird was named “Peep” and Whitey McFly was rewarded with an extra spoon of wet at food for dinner that night.
When Aunt Mel bought her farm she didn’t have any cats. You simply can’t have a farm without cats. They help control the mice and rat population in the barn. A friend called one day and said her sister found a cat in a tree in their yard. They didn’t want the cat but wanted to find her a good home. Arrangements were made to meet at Krispie Kreme in Roswell the next day. The pretty stray cat would come live at Aunt Mel’s new farm.
This cat was beautiful. She was almost full grown, half white and the other half brown tabby spots. She was very bright and quickly made herself at home. It took a few days to decide on a name – the pretty cat was named “Ed”.
Ed was a great hunter and caught lots of rats in the fields around the barn. But she was at the age where male cats were starting to hang around. Before Aunt Mel had a chance to have Ed spayed, Ed got pregnant. The decision was made to have one litter of kittens and keep the family together.
Ed got bigger and bigger and a bed was made from a cardboard box and lined with soft towels. Aunt Mel put the bed in the bathroom closet, a place that was dark and quiet. One night Aunt Mel couldn’t find Ed and looked all over the house. She called and called and finally she heard Ed meowing back. She followed the sound to the bathroom closet. Ed was inside the box and starting to deliver the kittens.
During the night Ed gave birth to five healthy kittens. She cleaned each one and was very careful to lay so they could nurse. She was a wonderful and loving mother. She licked and licked the kittens, purring and comforting them. Their eyes were closed but they knew they were safe and warm. They did little but nurse and sleep and grow for several weeks.
When their eyes opened the kittens became more active. They started to climb out of their box and play with one another. They meowed and hissed as they tumbled around the bathroom floor. Ed seldom left. She guarded her kittens and was always there when they were hungry.
The kittens were so cute. Aunt Mel named the silver tabby, Beatrice. Beatrice was the leader, bold and ready to explore. Emily was gentle and quiet, maybe a little shy. She had beautiful green eyes that well suited her grey tuxedo coloring. Arthur was a big boy, white with a few big grey spots. He always wanted to be right next to his mother and he would purr for hours. Vivian was very opinionated and smart. She was a grey tabby but her stripes were soft and blended. She had a bright pink nose. Waldo was a very handsome, sweet kitten. He was white with black ears and tail and three big black spots on his side that looked like Mickey Mouse. Waldo just wanted to be held. All the kittens were beautiful. Ed was very proud of them.
Soon the kittens were running throughout the house. They played hard until they were exhausted. Then they would find a sunny spot and curl up together and nap. Ed started to go outside again to hunt. As soon as she came home, the kittens would run to her and nurse. After a snack, she would bath each kitten and sometimes even play tag with them. They drove Aunt Mel crazy racing through the house, climbing up the back of the chairs, darting under tables….but she couldn’t stay made because they were such a happy cat family.
Finally the kittens quit nursing and ate regular cat food with Ed. Everyone went outside during the day to play and Ed taught them how to hunt mice. It was a very happy time at Aunt Mel’s house. All the animals on the farm enjoyed the fun loving kittens, especially their proud mamma, Ed.
Joe is Aunt Mel’s little brown pony. Joe has a white blaze down his face, but it’s a little crooked and ends over his left nostril. He has four white feet and a thick blonde mane and tail. In the summer, he is dark brown with darker dapples. In the winter his hair is three inches long and he looks like a Yak.
Joe was rescued from negligent neighbors. The neighbors bought Joe for their grand children to ride. Aunt Mel first saw him one spring day with six little kids pulling him around the pasture by a lead rope. He was wearing a little western saddle and a small bridle. A while later, Aunt Mel saw Joe run past her front yard with one of the little kids screaming on his back. A few minutes later, Joe ran back past without the screaming kid. That was the one and only time Aunt Mel ever saw anyone ride Joe.
After that, Joe was just left in their pasture. No one ever gave him hay or grain. He only had grass to eat. There was no water tub; he had to walk through the woods to the shallow creek to get a drink. He would stand along the fence near Aunt Mel’s horses, looking very sad and hungry. It broke Aunt Mel’s heart to see him neglected and alone.
That Christmas, Aunt Mel received a bonus at work. She called the neighbors and told them she was taking the pony and leaving a check in their mailbox. They said that was fine, they didn’t want that mean pony. They cautioned that it would be hard to catch him. Determined, Aunt Mel climbed over her fence into the neighbor’s yard.
As usual, Joe was standing near the fence trying to be close to her other horses. As soon as Joe saw Aunt Mel, he ran straight over to her. His hair was matted and dirty. His feet had never been trimmed. They were too long and curled up on the ends like elf feet. It had rained the night before and he was covered in a sheet of ice. She kissed his pink nose, gave him a carrot and slipped the halter over his head. Joe walked quietly out of his old pasture and into Aunt Mel’s yard. And that’s where he’s been ever since.
I received a few photos of my very first public art project, now installed in the new Port Security Building in Anchorage, Alaska. This was only the third public art project for which I had applied and I was thrilled to learn that I was the selected artist. But it wasn’t quite that easy – and how I learned of the award makes a great story.
The Request for Proposals for this project included a detailed description of this new building. The lobby would include wood planking from old ships and many ship related artifacts – bells, rope, etc.. The building itself is a check point for all visitors embarking and debarking on ships from the port of Anchorage.
I submitted a line drawing and proposed that my piece would incorporate aspects of port life that spanned time and the many cultures that have had impact on Anchorage; whalers, the native eskimos, russians, spanish and of course wildlife. I packed up my proposal and waited.
So a few months later I received a “thank you for your submission”, essentially a nicely worded rejection letter except that at the bottom it stated that the artist selected for the project was Melanie Eberhardt of Atlanta, Georgia. I figured someone just made a mistake formulating their Word document and filed everything in my reject folder.
Another month later, my phone rings as I’m walking out the door. The woman on the other end introduces herself as the director for public art for Anchorage and asks did I received my letter. She’s calling to ask if I received my rejection letter – yes thank you I did! So I’m thinking, why are you calling to rub salt in the wound, that cold weather must make people in Alaska kinda mean?
She says – oh good, I wondered if you received it because I hadn’t heard from you. I asked her, “why would I need to call you about a rejection?” Long pause. Then she said “what?” and I said “what?” and she said, “oh gosh, don’t tell me I sent you the wrong letter! you were the selected artist!”
Now here I have to apologize because I promised that I wouldn’t tell a soul about the letter snafu. But it really makes a great story to start of a great project. Sorry “J”!
She was kind enough to tell me about the review process. She said my work was like nothing else submitted. And while it caught her eye, she didn’t think it stood a chance with the other submissions – beautiful seascapes and ships. But when the review committee reached my proposal, she said they all stood up and starting pointing and laughing and had a hearty discussion about the composition and figures. When they told her “this is the one we want” she said she nearly fell off her chair.
Now, it was time to get to work. I spent several weeks researching the culture of Anchorage and reading fables and glancing at history books and then I was ready to refine my sketch, full scale and get started. It took three months to finish the painting. Its the largest piece to date, nearly 4 x 6′. I didn’t have a large enough work surface so I painted on my kitchen table and rolled it from side to side as I painted each area. I had to nail it to my living room wall to stand back and look at it to evaluate progress. I enjoyed every minute of that piece.
My final challenge was how to ship this huge piece to Alaska in December. I called the Booth Museum in Cartersville and asked to speak to their regent. They provided me with several numbers for companies that ship work for museums and private collectors.
One of my favorite aspects when I worked full time was to search for unusual vendors to help on projects. There are a million companies in the world who do the craziest things but when you need them, its always a fun learning experience.
I decided to ship the piece with a company in downtown Atlanta, Armor Circle area. They ship work around the world at the time, they had just shipped the Monets for the exhibit at the High Museum. I was in the best hands. I was barely able to stuff the framed piece in my 4Runner but managed. They were great to work with, they unloaded it onto a padded dolley, built a custom wooden box with padding and made all the shipping arrangements with Delta. Once it landed in Anchorage they even coordinated delivery to the public art offices. Not cheap! But they took care of everything.
Now my painting is in the lobby of the Port Security Building forever. Like the review committee, I hope people stop to study the details, point and discuss the piece.
If you should happen to be in Anchorage, please stop by, take a photo of yourself next to the painting and send it to me so I may post it here on my blog. I’m told the building doesn’t have a particular address but if you go to the port of Anchorage and ask the security guards if you can visit the painting, they will direct you to the appropriate building.
This project started off oddly but I wouldn’t have it any other way because it makes my first Public Art Commission a fun story!
Captain Crunch belonged to friends of Aunt Mel’s. Captain Crunch lived in their barn. His job was to control the mouse population. He was very good at his job despite a significant handicap.
