Who knows when or where old Tom was born. He was a newborn once, and his mother was proud of him. Like all babies, his new world was full of wonder. He came to live with me in 1998 and it was apparent he had a home at one time. He was full grown and had a few battle scars. Also, he had been neutered, letting me know at one time, he had a home. Well, now he had another one. He wanted more. He wanted to be an indoor cat. This cat managed to scale the walls of my house, claw out the screen covering the vents under the eaves in my house, and crawl into the attic. From there he was able to find the little hatch that some of us have in our closet, pry it open, jump into the closet, open the door to my bedroom, and get in bed with me. He did this many times. I am sure I am the only person in the world, that has chain link fence, covering those openings. After he gave up on being an indoor cat, he settled into the routine of being an outdoor cat. Every time I would come home, day or night, he would be in the driveway waiting for me. Rain or shine. I started calling him "Mr. Dependable". You could always count on him to be wherever you were. If I looked out the back door in the morning, he was looking at me. If I walked around to the front door, he was looking at me. If I looked out of the bedroom window, he was looking at me. It was almost scary how he could be so many places at one time. Mr. Dependable. Trying to think back, he saw me bury 5 or 6 cats, including his pal, Meeko. Some were long time pets, some were just visiting. He never reached the heights of Meeko as a favorite, but he did not care. He was happy to get a couple of pats on the head each day. A real treat is when I would sit out back on nice evenings, and sit with him a while. The last few days, I made it a special point, to do just that. For several days, he could not eat or drink very much due to swelling in his throat and tongue. He even had a hard time purring. It sounded like a car that needed a tune up. We waited in the vets office for about 20 minutes and he got a lot of head scratches from strangers while laying in my lap, with his chin resting on my hand. Every few minutes, he would turn his head and look at me, just to see if I was still there. When the time came to see the doctor, he was really brave. I would not have expected any less from "Mr. Dependable". She explained that he had a tumor under his tongue. And they are very aggressive. I asked if it would do any good to remove it, and again she told me it was very aggressive. So, the tough decision was made. I did not let my selfish feelings get in the way of what was right for him. Sure I would miss him. But what was right for him was much more important than my sorrow. She first gave him a shot to relax him, and then left the room for a few minutes. He knew what was going to happen. His glazed, sunken eyes became bright again. He purred more loudly than ever. And smiled again, as if thanking me. And then closed his eyes. He is not gone, just in a different place, like we all hope to be. Like a newborn again. Who knows when or where old Tom was born. He was a newborn once, and his mother was proud of him. Now, just like a baby again, his new world is full of wonder.Goodbye to Mr Dependable.