I’ve decided this year to devote quite a bit of my spare time to the digital scanning of all of my photos. I started photography as a hobby sometime in 1977 – so it’s conceivable that my one-year commitment may reach far beyond 2009. That combined with my frenzied picture taking as of late – has meant that so far – I’ve spent every free moment either scanning, snapping or uploading to Flickr.com. No complaints here. It has been great fun and I’ve met lots of new cyber pals on the Flickr site. My renewed hobby has certainly jarred and opened many memories that were long forgotten.
Take Frisky, for instance. A very nice cat and one of many pets that I rescued or gave a home to during the 1990s. Frisky is better known as “The FBI Guys Cat” as he was found and made part of the cast for a comedy show that I was involved with at the time. The year was 1991. I had been producing a regional cable show in New Jersey since 1988. The show (called Meadowlands Showcase) played on free TV in the New York tri-state area. I was employed at Comcast Cable and my job gave me the flex of working with a “co-op” of other cable systems. Seven or eight different cable companies made up the core channel know as The Cable Television Network of New Jersey (or CTN as it was called). I was a member of their Cultural Sub-Committee. So, in my off hours at my job, I (and a core group of volunteers) produced Meadowlands Showcase. A monthly show featuring local bands, short films and original comedy sketches that we produced. “The FBI Guys” was one such sketch. For Episode 1, the script called for the casting of a cat. My house was home for many cats at that time in my life. For whatever reason, I didn’t use one of my own feline friends so, fellow FBI Guy and show creator, Paul Darrigo decided he’d find the cat for the role.
The night was dreary and rainy. Paul was driving on Rte. 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey – on the desolate and filthy shoulder of the road was a small cat – wet and shaking in fright. Paul pulled over, grabbed the scared animal and brought him home. I first met the kitty when he was brought to the Lyndhurst studio facility for one of the shoots. After all the video shooting was completed, Paul announced that he couldn’t keep the cat. As I had said – I already owned quite a few cats – so I just brought him home – to my house in Northern New Jersey. Fifteen minutes of fame and a guaranteed shelter for life.
