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Mischief Makes Maiden Flight

Mischief, engaging in his favorite passtime, biting Mona.

Mischief, the Bethlehem cat, flies alone from Dallas to New York

Mona was more worried about Mischief's flight than she was her own, while Mama was most worried about the DFW-Metroplex traffic on the route back to Lufkin, Texas.

When Mischief met his new mistress Mona at the First United Methodist Church's reconstructed city of Bethlehem in the Lufkin Rodeo Arena, he had no inkling of where his new relationship would take him. Since the cat captured Mona's heart and Mona had already purchased her return ticket to Niagara Falls on an airline that did not accept live animals, Mischief had to fly solo via Continental Airlines.

Mischief, in DFW, taking his last stroll before Mona's plane took off for O'Hare. Mona didn't want to leave the Texas warmth, but since a new semester of college awaited her up in the frozen north, Mother urged her to return.
Oblivious to the ordeal that awaited him   Getting the cat to Niagara Falls proved troublesome. With snow sweeping across the Midwest, Mischief wasn't allowed to fly into Chicago. Afterward, because of bitter cold blanketing New England, the kitten was rerouted from his alternative route through Newark, New Jersey, being diverted instead to Cleveland, OH.
As a result of the change in flight plan, Mischief got a late start, not departing DFW until 4:30 p.m., more than five hours after his owner Ramona's plane had taken off. Nevertheless, this change was fortuitous, because the little cat was in the Buffalo NY airport by 7:30 p.m.the same night. Mischief basks in the Southwest sunlight before his flight
A dejected Mischief enters his pet carrier in anticipation of his flight However, as life would have it, Mona got stuck in a holding pattern over Chicago, due to low visibility brought on by a snow shower. Rerouted to Cincinnati temporarily, a disgusted Mona got on the phone to Cousin Krissy in Texas, praying with her that the weather would quickly clear so she could get to New York to redeem the cat. Five minutes after their prayer, the order came to reboard the plane for the return flight to Chicago to connect with the New York flight. Finally, close to midnight, Mona's plane touched down on the Buffalo NY tarmack.
One last bite and then goodbye.

This story has a happy ending for Mama, though. By daylight of her first day back in Niagara Falls, with a fifty-degree temperature difference between her two cross-country residences, Mona had had enough of the Northeast cold. Determinedly, she phoned home with the news that she couldn't bear to stay in New York even long enough to finish college.

Cat Travels 1400 Miles in a Ryder Truck

Mona's Photo Album

Home

Thus, Mischief's visit to a colder climate should be blessedly brief: only two weeks. He's scheduled to make the 1400-mile trek back south, this time in a Ryder truck.

 

Background music is public domain copy of the American Western folk song, Red River Valley,

https://www.angelfire.com/tx2/kainwhitten/ramona1/mischief.html
Created January 21, 2000
By Susan P. Armstrong
Last Updated: November 23, 2004