Roxie D. On Missing the Last Train to Kingston

Posted on by Claremary P. Sweeney

It’s been a while, so for those who don’t know me, I’m Roxie Dammit – Roxie D. to my fan club. I’m “The Other Cat” who resides in the house.  The cat who DOES NOT have a book series named after her, as my little sister, ZuZu has. She’s Mom’s favorite. I’m merely kept around to babysit for Mom’s Little Sweetie Pie when the parents go off gallivanting (which is way too often for my liking). Actually, I’m babysitting now so Mom can be up in the Berkshires reading about ZuZu’s marvelous, totally made up adventures to a captive audience of little children who, I’m quite sure, would much rather hear about me.

Those who do know me (my faithful fans) understand I’m not one to complain, but these last two weeks have been a true test of my long enduring patience.

First, there was the dog who took up residence on our porch. I spent an entire morning guarding the kitchen door, as if I don’t have better things to do with my time. ZuZu hid in the bath tub, proving once again, how absolutely useless she is around here. She eats, she sleeps, she takes up space. And SHE is the favorite! Life sucks! And, as if it couldn’t get any worse – Mom and Dad threw a huge party and I wasn’t invited!

She’d been spending weeks monopolizing the computer,  working on this book about a train. A TRAIN!  Weeks that could have been put into writing about me. Days I could have been writing entertaining blog posts for all of you. Hours I could have been watching cat videos.

And then her friends came over to plan a celebration for the book about this TRAIN! And they talked about invitations and publicity and food and music about trains and toy electric trains and a donut cake in the shape of a train.  I love donuts!  I love cake!  But a donut that’s a cake? A cake that’s a donut? It boggles the mind! It sounded absolutely, totally  amazing!.

My hours were filled with a new reason for living. And on the day of the big celebration, Dad packed the car with books and posters and gift baskets and food and paper goods and a gigantic box with (you guessed it) the donut cake inside. And they went off in the car, to the fantastic party,  leaving me at home to babysit for ZuZu.

Obviously, I was devastated. I’m still trying my best to cope with the rejection. I’m finding this hard to write about. I’d like to pretend it never happened, but mom’s friends have been sending pictures and so the whole betrayal is there for me to see.

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And once again, I’m left lying here on the dining room table, where I’m not allowed. I’m home alone,  babysitting Mom’s darling little ball of fur, surrounded by books and posters of stories that are not about ME.

And I think I just might write a murder mystery myself. I wonder if they could make a donut cake in the shape of a Gorgeous, Gray Cat? I would name the book Roxie D. – Last Cat Standing!  And I’ve already decided who the first victim will be.

Mommy’s Sweet Baby Snookums

Last Train to Kingston is now available directly from the author at claremarypsweeney@yahoo.com  or on line at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indie Press. Note: If you buy from the Create Space link, the author will receive more of the profits from the book. https://www.createspace.com/7122965

80 thoughts on “Roxie D. On Missing the Last Train to Kingston”

    1. Dear Kate, I have so little to enjoy. Lying on the place where people eat makes me happy. Especially since I have been removed from this perch time and time again, because, as she is to be obeyed reminds me ad nauseam, “Roxie Dammit, you are not a centerpiece!”

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  2. I can feel your pain Roxie being a chocolate lab and having sensitivity for my feline friends. But look at it from another side… you are loved and that evidenced by having a wonderful home and a table to lie on. Let them have fun and keep an eye out for any critters that may sneak in.

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    1. A chocolate lab? I’m not allowed chocolate. She who rules the world says it could make me sick. I don’t believe her. I think she just doesn’t want to share. I’ll bet you’re Mom is just lovely and shares everything with you.
      PS I’m not allowed on the table. She who loves to yell is constant\tly hollering, “Roxie Dammit, get off that table. You are not a centerpiece!” She’s not home right now and I am being a centerpiece.

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      1. My peoples won’t let me eat chocolate either quoting some intellect from the internet. I agree that its probably a conspiracy to keep the chocolate to themselves. Aren’t you worried your peoples might find hair on the table? I know every time mine are away and I jump on the couch they always seem to know. Dog-gon-it. I can’t complain though, they gave me this wonderful doggie bed to sleep on. You enjoy being a center piece and try not to get caught okay.

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      2. I’m beginning to really like labs made of chocolate! do your parents ever leave you alone to take off on vacation? I’ll bet they take you with them! And you have your own doggie bed! I definitely think I got shortchanged in the parent department. (Or at least one half of it! Dad’s okay. She leads him astray.) Take care and keep shedding on the couch. I leave my fur all over the house. Let them know who’s in charge, I say!

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      3. I like your spunk Roxie. My peoples take me just about everywhere. On those days they go take care of chores or date night they let me go in my cave. I like it though cuz when they get home they make a big deal of me or I should say I let them make a big deal of me and I just let them think I’m enjoying it. Gotta let em know I’m in charge of my feelings like you said. You’d be a purrfect roomie. Maybe you’d like me more as you get to know me. My chocolate doesn’t rub off but I’m sweet like it.

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      4. You sound amazingly sweet. And you say you go everywhere! If I escape from the house into the yard, the warden chases me screaming like a banchee and when I let her catch me, you shoud hear the words that come out of her mouth. She could melt metal with those lips!

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      5. My sweetness grows daily with the love I get and to keep up I give twice as much back. The cycle keeps going round and round like that bird I chased earlier. I bet though when the warden picks you up you begin that soft purr routine and she melts right? It works for me when I don’t come right away when we’re out on walks. At first my peoples get upset but I just soften my little girl face and droop my ears and they melt. We always gotta remember our peoples are a work in progress. Keep purring and showing that kitty love and it’ll all work out.

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      6. You sound like a very nice dog and you’ve given me something to think about while locked up alone with nowhere to go. And yes, I do love sitting with mom in bed at night watching cat videos. It makes me purr out loud because she scratches my head and tells me what a good girl I am. Now I’m feeling quite guilty about calling her names.

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      7. Its okay, I know its hard sometimes being a quadraped. You can vent anytime you want. I got big ears to listen with. I let my peoples scratch my neck all the time. They don’t really know it but I’m letting em do it because I know it lowers their blood pressure. Well, maybe I enjoy it a little bit, woof, woof.

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      9. Woof, woof Roxie D. new you’d charm your peoples with that purrrrrfect demure of yours. Remember to stay a tad aloof so as to not let em think you are truly basking in their treats, woof woof.

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  4. Poor Roxie, left alone to molder while Mom celebrates.

    And what a celebration it was! Good for you, Clare, I’m thrilled. What an appreciative community to welcome you and line up while you sign autographs in your book – that’s every writer’s dream. I’m really thrilled for you.

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    1. My dearest CJ. Mom is not home right now. (That’s why I’m on the dining room table.) I’m glad you noted the size of the little Butterball’s belly. Alas that is a picture of Baby ZuZu. I am an ematiated creature because piglet snorts all the food in both our bowls like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a cruel world in here.

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  6. Well, Roxie D, first I must send congratulations to your mom for her latest book. Congratulations, Clare. Now, Roxie, was very happy to read your blog and I do wish you had access to the computer more often because I do enjoy your blogs very much.
    That doughnut cake looked wonderful – did anyone save you a tiny crumb?
    And I have some exciting news to share as we have recently adopted a cat. Her owner is moving to another country so we said we’d take her. She is four years old, small, black and very cute. Her name is Bandit, which seems and odd name for a girl cat. I think it might because she steals food and we daren’t leave any around.

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    1. Dear Mary. What a fortunate animal! I think I would make a wonderful Scotish pet. Especially in a home that has goldfish.
      I’m sure Mom will send her thanks to you when she arrives home from her latest trip to the Berkshires. She’s reading to children at The Mount. It’s the home of Edith Wharton. I’m not even going to mention what she is reading. I’m sure she’ll write about it in next week’s blog post. But thank you for telling me about Bandit. She sounds like a very pretty cat. Give her a treat for me, please.

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  7. Dearest Roxie D – how very DARE they behave so heinously? It is cleAr to me that we live in grave times and must think very carefully about the next paw steps. Drastic measures seem imminent. Your loyal and only canine friend, The Bean 🐾🐾

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    1. Dearest Bean, You get me! Not like the drooling beagle who showed up last week and just wanted to get to my food bowl.
      I think you are so lucky to live in France, a civilized country. This place is filled with barbarians. I’m getting a passport ASAP.

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      1. We are hoping that Mr Macaroon (who my mummy says is very smart) hasn’t lost his marbles though because he had Orange Dough-Boy with the clashing yellow wig (who mummy says is very stupid) to visit with him in Paris yesterday and he was SMILING not wincing 🤔

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      4. Of course! I’d been in the Berkshires in my little fantasy world and politics had been banned for the duration. They never crossed my mind. I thought they were new visitors the Bean was tolerating.
        But now I am home and back to reality. I must do a blog post on my adventures, read some posts by others and kill off someone else in my latest murder mystery. De rien!

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    1. Robyn – after all the editing and proof problems and the stress, the launch was so much fun. Just one huge party. People I hadn’t seen since I was a kid showed up. But now I’ve settled in to writing the second in the series. I’ve already decided on the victims and the killer. SHHHHHH! Mums the word. Thanks for the kind words. I wish you were here.

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      2. Robyn, Retirement has been very good to me. When I was a teacher and then an administrator, my job took up so much of my time, but I loved it. When I retired, I traveled, got married and started writing to publish. I truly believe writing blog posts has made me a better writer and am not sorry for all the time I spend on social media. And let’s not forget about the friendships that developed!

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      3. I agree. Blog posting has improved my writing too. It’s more spontaneous, less laboured and therefore flows much better. As for the friendships made, well they’re invaluable. You are indeed, blessed. But you must give yourself credit for working hard to achieve your dreams AND for being a lovable person ;). Seriously, I’m sure Charlie would agree.

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      4. Thank you, Robyn. Charley agrees I can be quite lovable until someone I care about is mistreated or insulted – then I am lethal. I am known in some circles as Bitch Lady. Remember what my mother used to say, “If you take her on, you deserve what you get.” I am fiercely protective and do not react well around bullies. Luckily, I’m not put in that position much. I wonder whether to create a character like that in the mystery series? It just may be much too close to home.

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      5. I’ve used myself as a template in a short story before and it’s an interesting process. It affords a third person look at ‘you’ as character. There is always a temptation to valorise oneself of course. A favourite pastime of mine – personal narrative and how it constructs identity. I recall writing a thesis on it many moons ago. : )

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      7. And I can’t imagine anyone calling you ‘Bitch Lady’. Maybe you could claim the title as your own and take it as a compliment, Name calling is often a response to not being able to get one’s own way don’t you think?

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      10. Robyn, Yes, it’s so much easier because the imaginary world with its settings and characters has been established in Last Train. So much went into that. This second mystery has me enthralled. I had the underlying motive tucked away long ago and the victims chosen. I just recently decided on the murderer and am loving the development of the plot with all its clues and red herrings. As for the ZuZu Series, I am up in the Berkshires now and the next book will be ZuZu’s Homecoming, set at Christmas time.
        The little verse book about the vegetarian pitcher plant is coming along quite well. We plan on launching it in December. So, the plan is: mystery series books launched in June every year; ZuZu series book launched in August every year; Other books to be fit in and possibly launched in December every year. Let’s see how that works out…..

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      11. Oh my goodness! That’s a busy schedule. I’m so impressed! I often wondered if that’s why I loved Louise Penny’s books so much. Aside from the wonderful writing and clever plots, I came to know and love the characters so well. Like they were an extension of my community. I love that idea and I think it encourages reader investment.

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      12. Robyn, Yes, the character development, the sense of community and the small village setting always calls me back to any series. And if there’s some history thrown in , then I’m sold. I decided to put some photos of the historic settings into Last Train. People around here loved that and so I’ll do the same with Last rose. I’m really enjoying writing about what happens to my characters in this next mystery. And of course, the new characters are fun to create, too. i have one particularly odious character I think I may have to tone down a bit. She wreaks conflict wherever she goes. Maybe if I kill her off early on in the plot, that will solve my problem. And there’ll be so many potential murderers left behind.

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      15. I remember she was your favorite. I have a love/hate relationship with Ruth. But honestly, the series would not be as good without her. The thing with odious characters is they must be balanced. No one is all bad. No character should be either. To be entirely authentic and more than two dimensional, a character must have some endearing features. I think Penny is clever making those endearing features such negative ones. But you know all that. Forgive me, I am preaching to the converted.

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      16. I think I handled character development well in Last Train, especially in the area of balance. But, I’m having a difficult time with that balance for one of the characters in this second book. I’m modeling her after Charley’s ex who has no redeeming qualities that I could detect in the interminable, tedious times I spent around her. I’m calling in a friend who is good and sweet and kind and she is going to try to help me remedy this problem.

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      17. Hahaha! You are funny. I have this theory that most people are doing the best they can at the time with what they have available to them. Insecure people are often painful. Some people go through life thinking they are owed a living. Others, like the unmentionable Mr T, are simply narcissists and to be felt sorry for at the end of the day, products of their life experience and a twisted life perspective? I would like to be more generous. It’s easy on paper but faced with the ‘difficult to love’, I struggle. That’s why we write!

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      18. The buffoon is typical of the extremely rich and terribly insecure old white men who need to keep control of the insulated world they’ve built around themselves. That’s why you see them so desperately trying to erase everything Obama accomplished. It was a terrible time for them because it was a glimpse into the future of a different United States. This is their final attempt to stop the evolution and, politically, it’s just not working for them. We will have our own “Off with their heads French Revolution” some day soon, but this transition period is proving difficult for everyone right now, as you can imagine. As a country, we need to go through this and come out the better for it on the other side. (You’ve heard me say this many times.)
        It is a good time to be a writer as it provides a medium for expressing everything even if it is incomprehensible at times.
        And on a personal level, it is quite cathartic to be able to kill off noxious people and not be locked up.

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      19. I agree. I read a quote the other day that went something like: at every crossways on the road to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men defending the past. I think this expresses the situation. But with each transgression, worse than its predecessor, I think surely not, the American people won’t accept this, someone will step in. In the meantime the world watches as he diminishes the office of president. I sincerely hope you’re right Clare.

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      20. We allowed this disgusting excuse for a Republican Party to get into office backed by the money of the rich. Being a “Democratic” Society, we must wait until the next election to vote them out. They are the true “reprehensibles” and history will not view any of them well. Note, there are only 5 women Republican Senators and 3 of them voted down the disgusting “Health Care Act.” The other 2 are not exactly for it and all 16 of the women Democrat Senators are against it. Remember my point about getting more sane women involved in politics? Sexist as I may have sounded, it’s our only hope, Robyn.

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      21. It must be a constant burr under the skin for fair minded Americans, dismayed over and over again by this administration. It too will pass. Difficult but I guess you must have patience. Not sexist Clare. Sensible. Gloria Steinham said feminism is looking at the world through BOTH eyes. This should be reflected by numbers of women in our governments and all walks of life.

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      22. Steinem’s book was one of the best I’ve read this year. Here in the US we need to evolve such much further. I don’t think people in other countries realize how incredibly backwards we’ve been for way too long on issues of equality.

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  9. Poor Roxie! How could they do that to you? I’m sure they love you really, even if you think they prefer the little one. I’m not sure about your murder mystery though: there wouldn’t be many suspects, would there! Please wish your mum well with her book 😊

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    1. I would certainly pass on your wishes to Mommy Dearest, but she is off gallivanting in the Berkshires. She’s been asked to read to children from the odious ZuZu book and has once again deserted me. If I were a child, she would have been reported to Child Welfare and in jail by now!

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      4. Dearest Clive, Unfortunately, I was following Dad around too closely and accidentally got shut in the garage last night. Mom found me yeowling when she came to feed me this morning. She was very sorry and I know it’s just added more guilt onto her shoulders, but it was a terribly traumatic experience. She says she’ll bring me out to the gazebo this afternoon. I’m going to milk this for all it’s worth. Your friend, Roxie D.

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      6. Clive, I’m torturing both of them and getting lots of treats. Right now Mom is with me in my favorite place – the Gazebo. She just finished a new post. I noticed a lot of photos of a cat that is not me! What is that about?!!! Roxie D.

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    1. I’m depressed right now and will not be able to write much of an answer for you. Once again, I’ve been deserted and I have no idea when the cruel parents will return. I heard them talk about the Berkshires and the odious book, so that’s where they probably have disappeared to. I am betrayed and beyond consolation at the moment, but thank you for your lovely note.

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      2. That kitty hug got me through some hard times. Thank you. the parents have returned and Mom has been extra kind to me. I realize how much I missed her and will try to behave for the rest of the night – Or as long as she is giving me treats and brushing me.
        Love, Roxie D.

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  12. Oh Roxie, my love!! My heart is breaking for you!! Ethel WAS my friend, but how can I be friends with such a cruel woman??
    Your life is so full or trials, and tribulations, darling, how do you manage to hang on??? Good for you, for being so patient, and strong!!
    Even guarding the house, against that dog, even tho no one appreciates you! What a saint you are!!
    Well, I love you to the moon, and back!! Cuddles galore from Florida!
    I look forward to seeing you soon, when you’ve had enough neglect, and come down here for some love!
    Love, your fan club Pres

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    1. Thank you, Melinda. I’m feeling much better right now. Mom and Dad came home from the Berkshires and things are back to normal. Mom fed me four times and gave me treats and brushed me and kept telling me what a good kitty I was. I forgive her everything, as long as she never goes away again. Your friend, Roxie D.

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  13. Congratulations Clare. This is wonderful news! What a great feeling to have the book completed and another started 🌟
    Roxie’s posts always make me smile. You should definitely encourage her to write that murder mystery.

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