This post was written 12/13/10 as a reflection on events occurring 10/26/10.

One day, I was sitting in my room and thinking to myself, “Oh, how nice it would be to have a kitten to snuggle with!” In fact, I even went so far as to post a link to a scene from the Aristocats on Twitter in which the French kittens Marie, Berlioz and Toulouse exercise their good breeding.

Well, after a short visit to Colette to see Dan Colen‘s temporary “En grève” show (which I missed by hours!), I headed over to the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore on the Left Bank, just near Notre Dame. (Hemingway and his Lost Generation contemporaries borrowed books from the store’s original owner, Sylvia Beach, who was the first to publish James Joyce’s Ulysees. In the 1950s, the Beat writers gathered in its present location under its new owner, George Whitman. It’s like the Rainbow Room for English language writers.)

Moments after entering, as I stood on hallowed literary ground, taking it all in, a man from a nearby shop entered followed by his beautiful white cat! This cat was gorgeous and smooth, and very autonomous, as most cats are. I immediately recalled my earlier wish, and though it was not a Marie, a Berlioz, nor a Toulouse, it made for a perfect Duchess! I got to pet her to my heart’s content. Wishes do come true!