Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Asteroid Lil
It's the laser pointer. That little red dot must be scintillatingly bright to a cat's eye. Irresistible! Both Squeaky Joe and Thumbelina pursued it with dedication and great energy, to the point that they both recognized the characteristic k'tink when I turned the pointer on, and began looking around expectantly.
Squeaky Joe would chase it round in circles, jump up the wall, scrabble paw over paw along the back of the sofa, or pounce from a distance. Most often I would move the laser dot as if it had gone under a throw rug or behind the shelves. Thereupon the cat would either move to the other side of the item and wait in ambush, or else just hunker down patiently, waiting for the dot to reappear. Sometimes, however, Joe would get a paw right on it and I would flick the pointer off. Then Joe would lift a paw and, finding nothing underneath, begin looking around in crestfallen puzzlement.
Finally he stopped chasing it. He watches intently as the dot moves around the floor, up the wall, and across the ceiling, but he has abandoned hope. I think I have broken his heart.
And I empathize with him and feel great regret over what I have done to Joe. I've chased that bright red dot, too, and I know that there is absolutely nothing I can do to make it real so that when he lifts his paw it will still be there, his bright and shiny reward, accessible at last.
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Hypatia
Lovely writing. Thank you. And my sympathy to Squeaky Joe.
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Asteroid Lil
Well, I was thinking about the shiny red dot in my own life as a commercial holiday approaches...
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by David, the Singing Librarian Owl
That's really quite sad. Poor Squeaky Joe. 
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Hypatia
Lil, I'll join you in regretting the intangibility of red shiny dots.
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Br. magwitch - addef addysgwr killing in the name of....
I almost shed a tear when I read this. I then thought about George. He chases all sorts of lights around the house - it is quite comical.
Little red dots are very transitory, though, I'll have to admit.
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Posted Feb 12, 2009 by Phred Firecloud
The elusive red dot. Definitely a metaphor for something I've spent a lifetime trying to identify and capture...happiness? contentment? self-actualization? Unlike Squeaky Joe, I'm too stupid to quit just yet...
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Posted Feb 13, 2009 by  Phil
Little red dots or at least the bright lights I did chase for a few years. Eventually I realised that it wasn't worth it.
These days I'd rather see the red dots of sparks from the fire in the stove and the bright lights of the glowing, burning logs - heat, warmth and comfort - rather than the harsh cold bright lights trying to promise something that they can't give.
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