Almost 15 years ago now, I published a book of “essays” written from the point of a view of my Siamese cat, Simon. An occasionally arrogant fellow, as those who know Siamese cats will understand, Simon fancied himself a philosopher, and I have to admit that he taught me quite a few things. I was looking through some old files when I ran across this essay. Made me think about the current presidential candidates and the people who seem to be mesmerized by the bright and shiny things about some of them.
I was lying on a patio chair late one afternoon. It was starting to get dark – M had turned on the lights inside – and I was contemplating dinner when I saw something light up over in a corner of the yard. It disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.
Jumping down from the chair, I crouched low, looking for it again. I stayed down for a moment, pupils wide, but I didn’t see the light reappear. And then, just as I started for the back door, I saw it again.
Over the next few moments, the scene repeated itself, except that this apparition kept appearing in different parts of the yard. I would creep in one direction, only to find that the light source had moved again. And then it happened right in front of my face. In a lightning-fast move, I batted it out of the air and onto the ground. I touched it with my paw, and squinted at it in the dusk, waiting for it to light up again. It didn’t.
About that time, M opened the door to the yard and stepped out. I heard her say to someone inside, “Oh, look – there’s a firefly,” and I glanced in the direction she was pointing. There was another one of these things near the fence. I looked at M and back toward the fence. Then I looked down at the object at my feet. I sniffed it and jabbed at it a little. It still didn’t light up.
Confused and disappointed with my catch, I turned and walked toward M and the door, leaving it where it lay.
Be careful what you chase. Sometimes it turns out to be nothing but a bug.
P.S. from Vally: And remember, some bugs bite. And what happens next isn’t pretty. Take care to look very closely at the person you vote for.
Prodigal Prophet 
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