Mood:
sadTopic: "Fargo Felines" (5)
The Anderson House, a hotel in Wabasha, Minnesota, put a closed sign on its front door last week. Built in 1856, the Anderson House was billed as the state's oldest continuously operated inn. Frodo supposes that the inn must not be too far away from the Red River, which threatens the nearby residents of North Dakota as this vignette unfolds. Frodo, no visitor to locations beyond the scope of the line once defined by Messrs. Mason and Dixon, was struck by the fact that the cataclysmic costs of our current economic downturn include the 15 to 20 human employees of the historic inn, and a whole bunch of cats.
The Anderson House, it seems, was famous for its Dutch cooking and the staff of felines that overnight guests could borrow for companionship. Frodo's first thought, given the times, was to wonder whether or not the cats were eligible for unemployment compensation? The more he thought about it however, Frodo wondered whether or not he had been the victim of a cruel hoax. After all, a rental in a "cat house" certainly goes beyond the simple explanation of a tabby wrapped around one's toes.
A telephone call to Chris Fancher, director of the local Chamber of Commerce put Frodo's fears to rest. It did however, not do much for the endless possibilities available to conclude this tale of ignominy in the freezer chest of America. What, pray tell, do the citizenry of Wabasha now do with mousecatchers trained only in the fine art of slumberology?
The same as all the rest of us, Frodo supposes. Frodo acknowledges a little gratitude that the previous management did not similarly take an interest in guests with penguins at home.
