A18 OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | MONDAY,OCTOBER21,
‘D
are we get a cat?” my husband asked.
“Have you gone completely mad? No
way! I hate cats!”
We’d tried everything – peppermint
oil,foodinairtightcontainers,electronicrodentde-
terrents, humane catch-and-release traps.
Finally, our tender hearts admitted this dilemma
required the brutal snap mouse traps that would
make us murderers. With a heavy sigh, we went to
the hardware store and stocked up.
Much to our dismay, when we checked the traps
the next morning the peanut butter was eaten but
the vermin had escaped the spine-crushing-to-
death part. Secretly, I was relieved. However, our
mouse problem still needed solving.
WemarchedpurposefullyintotheHumaneSocie-
tyaskingforthemeanestcatonsite.Theladyguided
ustoacatattheback,initsownseparateroomwith
an“enteratownrisk”signonthedoor.
Aswelookedthroughtheglass,sheex-
plained that it was a stray, age un-
known. It was male, a “Barn Buddy
with Catitude” and the $165 adult cat
fee was waived. Its long hair was mat-
ted, sparse and speckled with dander.
It was skinny, mangy and exuded
meanness that was palpable. The
woman left abruptly, seemingly want-
ing nothing more to do with this cat.
After some courage-summoning
moments, we entered vigilantly. It
growled a warning, flicked its tail then
hissed as we neared. I kept my dis-
tance. Its green eyes fixated on me
withslitsforpupils.Achillwentupmy
spine,thehairsonthebackofmyneck
stood up and goosebumps covered my arms. Roy
spoke softly to it and moved in close, the fool. Then,
there was blood.
“We’ll take him!” I said.
“I can’t believe we got a cat” my husband said as
we drove home with the pitch-black mini panther,
pacinginhistinykennelprisonaswesatinsilentdis-
belief.
“Desperate times ...” I finally responded, envi-
sioning the continually reappearing mound of
mouse turds behind the piano.
I declared to all that I would not love it. We were
dog people. As a matter of fact, we were quite polar-
ized in our love for dogs versus cats. We would pro-
vide room and board, and it would kill mice. That
would be the extent of this relationship.
OurpupLynkinwascuriousaboutthiscreaturein
the kennel, tail a waggin’, big grin and floppy
tonguedashepeekedintheairholes-untilheheard
thedemonicgrowlfollowedbyahissandalurchfor-
ward. Lynkin’s tail went down swiftly and he scut-
tled away, wanting nothing further to do with this
stinky, dark beast. From a safe distance, Lynky gaveusawide-eyedglare,asiftosay:“Acat?Really?Have
you gone mad?”
“We’re not going to love it,” I reiterated.
Lynky seemed to appreciate that.
“It’s going back” I told Roy. At every opportunity
the cat, who we named Liam, pummelled poor Lyn-
kinfornoreasonotherthanmalice.Royinsistedwe
give it a few more days, reminding me of the mouse
turds behind the piano.
Liam would gobble up his food, then run and
hide, swatting Lynkin on the way. That is, until Lyn-
kin had enough. With an uncharacteristic snarl,
growl and a triple nip, the shocked feline was taken
aback by Lynkin’s shadow self.
Shortly thereafter, we began to notice his meta-
morphosis.Themeannessofspirittransformedinto
anunpredictablesweetnessandadorabilitythatone
had to see to believe.
Hisfurfluffedupasifhe’djustflown
in from a shampoo and blow dry from
a beauty salon in France. He became
submissive toward Lynkin, following
him around like a shadowy little
brother. From then on, they were side
by side. Liam started laying on the
back of the couch, legs up in the air
dead-bug style. He slept with us in the
family bed. He would come running
when called, leaping into our laps
where he would lull himself to sleep.
How calming it is to have a contented,
purring cat resonating near one’s vi-
brations of the heart.
It is amazing what love can do.
“I have met several Zen masters,”
says Eckhart Tolle, “all of them cats.”
Late one night a few weeks in, I awoke to Liam
tracking a mouse that ran under the bed. He chased
itandaftersomerunaround,themousefoundahid-
ing spot at the base of the lamp on the nightstand.
Liam looked in all other directions, then sat under
the nightstand. I shook my head, realizing that he
would not be holding up his end of the bargain. Yet,
we’dfalleninlovewithhim.Whatwouldwedonow?
Boom. In a flash Liam’s black paw darted up and
pierced the mouse with his needle-like claws and
dragged it into his lair under the table. I screamed.
My scream made my husband scream and then the
dog barked at all the commotion.
Courteously, Liam left the room with his prey,
sparing us from the gruesome scene that would fol-
low. In the morning, my husband found the gift at
the entrance of his office.
Word got out in the mouse community, and
thanks to Liam, the mice don’t come around here
any more – and our family is perfectly squared with
love.JacquelineLambJacksonlivesinEdmonton.LEARNINGTOLOVE
AMEANMOUSER
ILLUSTRATIONBYWENTINGLIThankstoabad-temperedadopteewholaterturnedintoalovable
companion,thevermindon’tcomearoundanymore–andourfurryfamily
isfinallycomplete–JacquelineLambJacksonwritesFIRSTPERSONWeweredog
people.Asamatter
offact,wewere
quitepolarizedinour
lovefordogsversus
cats.Wewould
provideroomand
board,anditwould
killmice.Thatwould
be the extent of this
relationship.Haveastorytotell?Pleaseseetheguidelinesonourwebsitetgam.ca/essayguide,
[email protected]FirstPersonisadailypersonalpiecesubmittedbyreadersTODAY’SKENKENSOLUTION TODAY’SSUDOKUSOLUTION| NEWSA
pub. A pint. A Puccini?
Against the Grain Theatre is touring its
pocket-sized production ofLa bohèmeat
taprooms and eateries across the country
and the reviews are in.
“I was blown away,” Rob Taylor, owner of the
MainlinerPubinMedicineHat,saidoverthephone.
“The response was unbelievable.”
“A really professional production,” added John
Murray, owner and head chef at Thunder Bay’s Red
Lion Smokehouse. “They rocked up at 5 p.m., and
when the doors opened two hours later they were
ready to go. It was a high-calibre setup.”
The world premiere ofLa bohèmetook place in
Turin on Feb. 1, 1896, at the Teatro Regio. The young
Arturo Toscanini conducted. Today, an orchestra-
less, modernized, localized and English-sung ver-
sion of the Puccini classic is up and running at To-
ronto’sTranzacClub,wherean11-showresidencyis
part of the indie opera company’s groundbreaking
national tour in partnership with Alberta’s Banff
Centre for Arts and Creativity. The run of jalapeno-
popper joints began at Royal Canadian Legion
Branch26inBanffandendsinDawsonCity,Yukon,
on Nov. 7.
Founded in 2010, Against the Grain is the Toron-
to-based company run by the innovative opera cre-
ator Joel Ivany, also director of opera at the Banff
Centre. This year, Ivany won a pair of Dora Awards
for his production ofKopernikusat Theatre Passe
Muraille. Ivany has staged operas in bars for years,
including a monthly night of beer andbel cantoat
the Amsterdam Bicycle Club.
This is the first time Ivany has taken his Opera
Pubprojectontheroad.“Wehitsomanycommuni-
ties where people have never seen a full opera be-
fore,”Ivanysaid.“Itcanbesuchapowerfulartform,
but not just anyone can put it on.”
IvanyspoketoTheGlobeandMailonThanksgiv-
ing Sunday, a night that saw the first professional
livestreamofanoperainCanada,byCBCArts.From
the Tranzac folk club, Puccini’s tragedy about high
rent and the doomed bohemian love of Mimi and
Rodolfo was live and nationwide.
“So many things could have gone wrong,”
laughed Ivany after the show, “but I think it turned
out really well.” One of those who watched the CBC
stream was Bob Firth, the namesake proprietor of
Bob’s Burger Bar in Kenora, Ont. Firth had hosted
one of theLa bohèmeperformances earlier in the
tour and enjoyed the
production.
“It blew me away,” he
told The Globe. “They
converted me.”
Althoughhewaswor-
riedaboutsellingtickets
for an opera production- “Elton John was play-
ing in Winnipeg that
night,pluswehadOkto-
berfesthereinKenora”–
all 85 tickets were
snapped up for the Ken-
oraLa bohème. Firth saw
more professionals in
the audience that night
than usual. “Lawyers,
doctors, that kind of
thing,”heguessed.“Alot
of wine went out that
night and we sold out of prime rib.”
AttheRedLionSmokehouse,morethan100tick-
ets were sold. One couple showed up thinking they
wouldbewatchingastreamedproductionfromthe
MetropolitaninNewYork.“Wherearethescreens?”
they asked. The opera enthusiasts were pleased to
learnthey’dbegettingalivepiano-and-singersper-
formance. “The feedback I received from the audi-
ence was extremely positive,” Smokehouse oper-
atorMurraysaid.WhetherintheFatBadgerinRegi-
naorthePyramidCabaretinWinnipegortheTran-
zac in Toronto, the Against the Grain singers don’t
sticktoonespot.Someoftheactionisonstage;one
scenetakesplaceatthebar.AttheMainlinerinMed-
icine Hat, where video terminals get more action
than Verdi and where karaoke is favoured overKo-
pernikus,a crowd of 50 tire-kickers took inLa bo-
hème. “I made some money, and I hope Against the
Grain did too,” bar owner Taylor said.
Ticketsforthepub-basedPuccinirunfrom$25to
$40. Ivany figures the tour will break even. “We had
toaddacoupleofTorontoshowstomakeitbalance
outfinancially,”hesaid.Themostmemorableshow
forhim,however,wasanunscheduledonethatsold
no tickets at all. On the road from Regina to Medi-
cine Hat, Ivany noticed a sign for an opera house in
Wolseley,Sask.PullingthevanofftheTrans-Canada
Highway,thetroupemadeitswaytoWolseleyTown
Hall and Opera House, constructed in 1907. A cook-
ing class for the local Indigenous community was
beingtaughtatthehallatthetime,butafterawork-
ing piano was discovered the students were treated
to a mini Mimi and Rodolfo concert.
“It was just a beautiful moment,” Ivany recalled.
“We all thought, ‘This is what this is all about.’ ”
Ivany, who directs his first Canadian Opera Com-
pany production (Hansel & Gretel) in February,
hopes for more Opera Pub tours. Certainly an audi-
ence has been tapped.
“In Alberta, especially in Medicine Hat, there’s a
lotofbarsstrugglingtomakeendsmeet,”theMain-
liner’s Taylor said. “Thinking outside the box, like
these opera productions, is going to be the way to
go.”
Puccini’s okay with that. Whatever pays the rent.
AgainsttheGrainTheatre
takesPucciniona
beer-soakedroadtrip
BRADWHEELERTORONTOWehitsomany
communitieswhere
peoplehavenever
seenafullopera
before.Itcan
besuchapowerful
artform,butnot
justanyonecan
putiton.JOELIVANY
ARTISTICDIRECTOR,
AGAINST THE GRAIN
THEATREJoelIvanyrunstheToronto-basedtheatrecompany
AgainsttheGrainaswellasservingasprogramdirector
ofoperaattheBanffCentre.KARIMEDIG/BANFFCENTRE