And the Winner Is...

And the winner goes to...the cross-eyed Siamese cat with the bump on his tail!

And why not? He worked hard. He scratched his way to the top of the Cat Show Ladder.

In 1964, my cat Gato won this award at the Nutmeg Cat Fanciers of America annual cat show in Cranston, Rhode Island. Oh, and he also took a swipe at the judge (otherwise, we're convinced he would have won First Best Premier). I’ll admit, he had a reputation for being difficult. On the Cat Show Award Night--he suddenly he bolted out the door and escaped. Everyone was in an uproar. If we had social media back then, you can bet he would be trending. He did return the next day--a bit worse for wear from his bender. And just like any Hollywood star, the moment was captured by the paparazzi and featured in the Sunday Providence Journal.

Tomorrow night the Annual Academy Awards Ceremony will be televised and the good people of the entertainment industry will hand out prizes to each other. They'll hug and laugh and cry and drink champagne. One or two will take a swipe at someone and maybe even run out the door.

Hollywood is just like a cat show--on a grander scale. I know this, because I used to work in Hollywood--for Paramount Pictures. So trust me, I know things!

Anyway. Cats. Actors. Directors. Best Calico. Best Supporting Siamese. Best Long Hair in a short fiction film. You get the idea.

Not to diminish the dedicated folks in the movie biz--but anyone can come up with a way to host a gala, get dressed up and dole out prizes. 

Creative Friends--your prompt for this week is to get dressed up in your Fancy-Nancy clothes and then give yourself a prize. After you do that, give some prizes to other people who work hard for their scratch. Be generous.

For extra credit, come up with a new category, then make art (a story, a poem, a dance, a painting, a song) that represents your very own Oscar. 

Oh, and don’t scratch the judge or run out the door. Have fun.

Love,

Jamie