Oddvar the Cat

Peake and Oddvar

Old customers may remember Oddvar the Cat

Back when we were on Staten Island, a neighbor asked if we wanted a kitten, He had found two kittens on a job site. One was a cute little thing. The other was a grey can with one bad eye. He gave us the gray cat.

The eye could not be saved, unfortunately. But that did no stop that little gray kitten. We named him Oddvar, as Odin would have been too obvious. And from his first day with us, well, he got into mischief.

Oddvar became part of the Trollwise Press. He liked to climb atop the laser printer and watch the paper load.  The gray cat liked to run around the office, sometimes making a mess. Some days he was like a “little fur man.” And some days he was “Mr. Bad.” There were times he annoyed Freja, our calico. Oddvar learned to avoid provoking Sadie, the senior cat at the time. And he got along well with Smudge, a black cat wit ha penchant for wrecking house plants.

Freja and Oddvar

One day, we brought home a tiger stripe. The young cat had been begging at our apartment complex. We called him Torkatt because the first time we saw hi m was after a wild thunderstorm. Oddvar was thrilled. He and Torkatt played around the apartment. They would ”wrestle” on the living room floor.

When we moved here to our house, Oddvar thought he was in paradise. Rooms and stairs gave him more places to run and play. He outlived Sadie and Smudge, and saw other cats come into the home. He was a happy fellow. And so it was hard for us when he became old an ill. Both Oddvar and Freja were on their “last legs.” He was 14, she was 17. We took them to the vet one last time.

I still miss them.

Though it has been 11 years since he passed, I can still see Oddvar perched on the laser printer, that one glowing eye scanning the room. I can hear that reedy meow. Oddvar was more than the average housecat. He got into everything.

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Oddvar and Torkatt

Torkatt came to use for the Holidays in 1998. The decorations had already been put away. After moving to the house here, he settled in nicely.

That holiday season, Audrey and I set up the tree as usual. And we set up the little HO train and small Yule village I had made. None of the cats had ever disturbed it.

Imagine our surprise the next morning to see our train and village scattered around the room. Torkatt was like a little tornado. So we had to use bigger trains and more substantial buildings ever after.

Oddvar loved to be picked up.

No Time for Losers

Some of the best songs tell a story. Jim Croce and Harry Chapin were masters of storytelling songs. Most groups have at least one or two songs that tel la story. Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues” reminds me of the self-sabotaging people I have seen over the years. It is amazing to see someone throw away every good thing in their lives, only to end up in Nidhogg’s Den (the fate of self-made losers).  That song came up tonight while I was listening to some tunes on Youtube.

Right now, I am in the fight of my life. I have not been this bad since the season before I had surgery in `14.  The doctors are working on it, but the final battle is all mine. Where there is life, there is hope. When I think of those who have sabotaged themselves, I wonder how they could give up on themselves. So here I am, striving against fate, and wondering why people in much better shape just let Life trample them like a bulldozer.

I have seen my own “rat’s eye view of Hell.” Of my old crew, I am one of the last two or three standing. You name it, I’ve faced it these past 60+ years. Poverty, ill health, loss, betrayal... So what? Chances are that you had your ow nrat’s eye view of Hell. There is no giving up. Think of it as being like the papier-mache Japanese Daruma doll. Every time they roll the doll, it always ends upright. There is a lesson to it: “Fall down seven times, rise up eight.”

Makes sense to me.

One of the most pathetic creatures is a former classmate who gave up about 40 years ago. He had all kinds of friends who wanted to help. The man got knocked down by Life and chose to stay down. Every attempt to help him was rebuffed.

The last I saw him in person, he was a park bum waiting for the local tavern to open. That was around 1988. Last I heard about him was in a 2012 article on indigents. There he was, photographed beside his little shanty made of used plywood and pieces of tarpaper. He is my example of those who choose to stay down rather than rise one more time.

When Life knocks you down, rise. Strive against fate. Never give up. You will make yourself a much better fate than if you decided to stay down like a whipped puppy. Life is too precious to waste wallowing in one’s own mistakes.

When Life hits you seven times, rise up eight!

Dens and Hide-outs

A straight man's hideout is called a Man Cave.
A straight woman's hideout is called a She Shed
A gay man's hideout is called a Fruit Stand.
A lesbian woman's hideout is called a Carpet Mill.

The Famous Bowie Knife

(Editor's note: Readers are warned: techniques show here are for illustration only. They can do serious bodily harm. Authors assume no responsibility for consequences of using them. Reads do so entirely at their own risk.)

Classic Bowie

The famed Bowie knife was originally designed by a Louisiana man named Rezin Bowie. His brother, Jim, had been in a dispute with some individuals, so Rezin lent him the knife. Despite being wounded, Jim made short work of his opponents. According to legend, James and an Arkansas smith named James Black altered the design into the knife we know today as a Bowie. On his way to Texas, Jim cut down three adversaries who tried to ambush him. Supposedly, Jim Bowie had been on his sickbed for much of the battle of the Alamo. Nonetheless, he is said to have cut down several Mexican attackers.

Bowie Fighting from 19th Century article

Back in the time of single-shot pistols, men needed a backup weapon. There was no time to reload if a shot missed, or there were multiple attackers. Large knives, many of which were actually short swords, were popular with adventurers and frontiersmen. Among early knives favored were the Green River knives, manufactured in Massachusetts. Another was the Arkansas Toothpick.

The Bowie became the most popular knife because of its practical as well as combative attributes. As an all-around camp knife, it is hard to beat. The Bowie as also an excellent blade for hunters and trappers. For a man on the move on the frontier, every piece of equipment had to justify being carried. Given the choice between a specialized fighting knife and a camp knife, the smart outdoorsman always picked the camp blade. The Bowie could do both equally well.

Modern Bowie

Bowies were also popular during the Civil War.

As firearms improved, blade length became less of an issue. The massive blades of the pre-Civil War era gave way to shorter, more nimble designs. This was also true of Bowie knives, with newer styles having blades of 9" or less. Even at that, it remained a premier field knife and fighter.

During World War I, troops were issued fighting knives more along the lines of traditional European daggers. The trench knives also had tee addition of knuckle guards to use in punching attacks. These knives had only one use - combat. They had little or no camp application. World War II saw two types of blade emerge. One was the Mark III Trench Knife with its straight, thrusting type blade. The others were based on Bowie. Two popular types were ( and still are ) the Army / Air Corps Survival Knife and the Marine “Kabar”. Both have the iconic clip-point.

Army / Air Force Survival Knife

At 5" long and with a thick spine, the Survival knife is strong. It can punch through the skin of an aircraft. The pommel could hammer nails. Holes on its crossguard allow it to be tied to a pole as a survival spear. As camp knife, it was ideal.

The KaBar has a 7" straight blade. It has the look and balance of a Bowie, and serves well as both a combat and a camp knife.

"Kabar" Combat knife

Thanks to Soldier of Fortune magazine. there was a renewed interest in combat knives in late 1970s. The book “Secrets of Modern Knife Fighting” by David Steele stoked interest in custom cutlery. The Randall custom knives of the World War II Era had long been esteemed by soldiers. More makers entered the field. So did reprints of old hand-to-hand combat manuals that showed knife use. “Kill of Get Killed” by Rex Applegate. “Get Tough” (a.k.a. All-in Fighintg by W.E. Fairbain, “Do or Die” by A. J. Drexel-Biddle and “Cold Steel” by John Styers made the rounds again. Of the three, Styers devoted his knife-work to the Bowie. He is shown with the Marine KaBar.

What followed was a spate of so-called combat knives that ranged from the over-simple to the bizarre. Custom knife-makers sprang up offering everything from tiny boot knives to massive, serrated Bowies. They looked cool. Performance-wise, the size and fancy features were wasted. Eventually, reality separated the men from the show-oafs. What remained were the practical Bowie and blades based on other time-tested designs such as the European Seax and Japanese Tanto.

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Smatchet

How does one fight with a Bowie? For that matter, how does one handle any combat knife? There are two approaches to fighting. Martial arts require years if study because they use specialized techniques, such as footwork, that are not natural. Hand-to-hand systems, such as the military, tend to focus more on natural body movement. There are few strange stances and little complex footwork.

Fairbairn's techniques for smatchet. Same techniques work with large Bowies

The Smatchet was a British weapon similar to the Bowie. It served as a large camp knife, but had combat implications. W.E. Fairbairn gave instruction in using the Smatchet. They require no special skills or fancy footwork. The same would work with a large Bowie, machete, hatchet or a stout club.

More of Fairbairn's techniques for Smatchet.  Also for large Bowie and stick.

John Styers’ method was a more specialized technique. It was easy to teach, easy to learn, and used basic body movement. The right leg and hand were extended slightly forward. On the other hand, the method devised by Rex Applegate and used in Army Manuals from the late 40s to the 80s used a left-leg forward stance, something like a boxer. Applegate favored dagger-shaped blades.

Styers' Stance, right leg forward

Styers stance, side view

Styers' thrust

Readers are warned: techniques show here are for illustration only. They can do serious bodily harm. Authors assume no responsibility for consequences of using them. Reads do so entirely at their own risk.

John Styers' book on knife, bayonet ,stick and unarmed fighting is titled Cold Steel and can be found online (Not to be confused with Hutton;'s work on fencing by the same name.

Fairbairn's books Get Tough and All-in Fighting demonstrate unarmed combat, knife, smatchet (bowie) and stick combat methods. His books can be found on the Net

If you enjoyed this article, check out some of the other articles on this blog.

My Life and Times Revisited

Just finished “My Life and Times” by James Thurber. It’s one of those books that deserves re-reading. The stories are amusing because of quirky, oddball characters creating or reacting to bizarre situations.   Indeed, I have had a slew of quirky characters in my own life. Some of them were part of bizarre and unusual incidents.

Thurber’s characters were comical. Some of those I knew were amusing, though they did not mean to be so. Many of the oddballs were tragic in one way or another. Their quirkiness was part of a morass of bad choices, bad circumstances and bad luck. I look back and thank Wyrd and the Gods that I avoided all that. “But for the goodwill of the Gods....” Sadly, some of those individuals came to bad ends. Yet for the time I knew them, they made life interesting. I wish I could have gotten through to some of them, but there is no helping those who refuse to listen.

The characters in my life today are less quirky and not tragic. That in itself is a blessing. Yet to be fair, the quirky folks from the past provide inspiration for amusing tales of fiction (I am presently putting together some rather amusing science fiction stories.)  The folks in my life today aren’t the kind of characters one might find in stories of nutty people and nutty activities.

Two-Timing Tribulation

(Another example of the fact that before a person can be old and wise, he must be to be young and stupid.)

While in the Army, I had two girlfriends back home who lived at opposite ends of the same town. Since the town was over four miles long, I figured they would never meet. Besides, they were about a year apart in school.

The girls themselves were very different. Tracey was a tall, thick Irish girl. Babs was a short, chubby girl. They had very different backgrounds and personalities. As I saw it, they had little in common.

I told them both that they were the only one for me.

Well, it came to pass that I received angry letters from both of them. They berated me for being a two-timer and cheater. It turned out that not only were they in the same school; they were in the same gym class.

Someone who knew both and had heard them cursing me got the facts for me.

One day in gym class, these two got talking about boyfriends. One mentioned having a boyfriend who was in the Army. The other replied that she also had a boyfriend in the Army.

“What’s your boyfriend’s name?” one asked.

You know damn well the reply was not Nick or Joe or Pete.

“That’s my boyfriend’s name,” said the other.

They took out pictures of their boyfriends to show each other. Yes, it was me. In fact, they both had copies of the same picture.

Obviously, I went from being the love of their lives to the biggest creep on the planet. And they made sure I knew how they felt. Talk about angry letters!

They both would have flipped if they knew I was having a steamy relationship with a woman who lived a couple miles from where I was stationed.

A couple weeks later, I was trading stories with one of the Air Force guys. He was from Texas, where towns are often fifty to over a hundred miles apart. He had been seeing two women who lived far from home. One lived about 100 miles to the West, another about 75 miles to the East. The airman figured they would  never find out about each other. And like I did with my girlfriends, he told each one that she was the only one he loved.

It turns out that there was a big regional game and two teams were in the bid for the championship. These were the teams from the schools of his two girlfriends. And somehow, the two girls got talking to each other after the game. Both mentioned a boyfriend from his town who was in the Air Force. Out came the pictures and...BUSTED.

Caught is caught, whether they live 4 miles or 175 miles apart. Coincidence? Or maybe an outworking of Jung’s Theory of Synchronicity? Who knows. One thing is for sure., When two girlfriends figure out they are sharing the same boyfriend, it has a tendency to make you feel stupid.

If you have found this article amusing, feel free to read the other articles on this blog.

American Legion Fundraiser

American Legion Post 54 is celebrating its Centennial next year. (1919 - 2019) We are one of the oldest posts in the country. Several events are being planned. As a fund raiser, we are selling certificates to get a professional car wash at Freehold Raceway Car Wash in Freehold Township. I have several of these tickets. You get exterior wash, wheels & tires cleaned, interior vacuum, dash dusted, windows inside and out, towel dry. If you are in the Freehold area and would like to support us and get a great car wash, contact me. Tickets are $19 each.

Thanks in advance!