From: eesshlgb@gdr.bath.ac.uk (S H L G Bisson)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: All in a mouse's night... (part 2/3)
Date: 6 Apr 92 10:34:40 GMT
Organization: School of Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, UK

---WELCOME BACK TO PART 2---

{A quick recap, Ignatz has woken up again, had a brief conversation
with himself, who gave him a few bits and bobs. He's just been explaining 
the first few, and has made a toast. Now, lets get back to the Place, and
see what Ignatz is up to...}

---PART 2---

Ignatz smiles, as he watches the words of the narrator fade from the
X-window.

"Getting X-travagant there, Simon..."

Sitting down again, the Cartoon Mouse starts toying with the set of keys.

"At the beginning of November last year I bought a car. A nice white Ford,
`Ruth'. In the middle of January I managed to almost write the car off. I
pulled out at a junction, having completely failed to see a car coming at
me from my right. Needless to say it was in the carriageway I had to cross,
and it ended up embedded in my driver's side door.

"I really don't know how I managed to walk away unhurt. There was less than
a centimetre clearance between the steering wheel and the door, and the 
main pillar was folded in a good 6 inches.

"But I did, and the car was repairable (though it took over 5 weeks). So
out came the bike, in a period of some of the worst freezing fogs that
this part of England has seen (I was turning up at work white, and that 
was the ice-crystals on my coat). Twelve miles a day on the bike. I started
to get quite fit... And I'll certainly bike it again regularly come the
summer."

Ignatz smiles. He shifts in his seat and starts to stroke Deej.

The look on his face changes. Sort of wary and pensive, yet happy enough
still. Only a Cartoon Mouse could find that sort of an expression on his
face.

"Some of you may have noticed that Deej hasn't been around for a while, but
has recently returned..."

The Real Cat purrs, as she hears her name mentioned.

"Back last September things started to get quite complicated. Cathy and I
were planning on going away for a holiday in Greece, when at the last
minute she decided to cancel.

"That wasn't too bad compared to what happened next.

"We went to the wedding of my friend Martin, who was going to be the best
man at our wedding, all went well, until Cathy left in the middle of the
night, leaving her ring and my train fare back to Bath. The next week was
not a good one.

"Luckily I had a lot of friends who went out of their ways to be there for
me."

Ignatz raises his glass to Nicki, who blushes with embarrassment.

"So life went on without Cathy. I did things for me... and things I'd always 
meant to do, but never had. I got to meet, and chat to (!), one of my heroes,
J.G Ballard, I joined the BSFA, and booked a place at my first con.

"Things were going well again. I was still talking to Cathy, and we seemed
to be making some progress. Then in November my grandfather fell ill. At 
the same time I'd arranged to go and spend a weekend with Cathy. 

"The weekend went well, then on the Sunday morning my father phoned. My
grandfather was seriously ill, could I get home to Jersey as soon as
possible. A quick phone around of airports and airlines put me on a 1 pm
flight from Cardiff to Jersey. A rush from Swansea to Bath, and Bath to
Cardiff. I reached the airport (ticket yet to be paid for...) at 12:40.

"I was home just in time. That Sunday was the last time I was to see my
grandfather before he died."

There's a moment of silence from the Cartoon Mouse. After a while he looks
up and begins to speak again.

"At the beginning of December Cathy and I decided to get back together
again. I can't pretend that it hasn't been plain sailing all the way, we
had a lot of rubbish to clear out, and a lot of rebuilding to do. But now
that's past, and we're heading on to the future. Cathy's wearing her ring
again, and we're planning our wedding once more. Life's good."

The rocking chair creaks a bit as Ignatz thinks over what he's been saying.
He drains his glass, and quietly tosses it over Deej to the fireplace.
There's a small crash, and...

"TO LIFE, TO LOVE AND TO FAMILY!"

Ignatz starts to leaf through the notebook, and people realise that he's 
not finished yet...

---END OF PART 2---
Newsgroups: alt.callahans