An Obituary for Mr. So

Fouquet, Mr. So

Minnesota Spats, a.k.a. Mr. So, a tuxedo cat with emerald-hued eyes, aged nineteen, left this world peacefully on December 7, 2015, in New Orleans.

Mr. So was born in New Orleans in early August 1996. Errol Fouquet and Kristin Mott, of New Orleans, adopted Mr. So, along with a blue-eyed Tabanese female cat, Mata Hari, on September 5, 1996.

While technically an indoor cat, Mr. So was permitted a nomadic existence, which sometimes afforded some outdoor time on balconies and screened-in porches. Over the years, he dwelled in five apartments and six houses. Like many inhabitants of the Gulf region, Mr. So tolerated hurricane evacuations in several cities and in many hotels. He was in exile in North Carolina for one year and nine months following Hurricane Katrina and the resulting levee breaches, which flooded his home.

Akin to most native New Orleanians, Mr. So savored seafood gumbo and spicy crawfish with gusto. When the occasion allowed, he enjoyed lobster and caviar. His music preferences veered toward jazz, especially female vocalists. He hosted countless intimate soirées, known simply as So Nights, and welcomed guests like the Frights of North Carolina for Mardi Gras.

Although he sidestepped fatherhood, Mr. So assured his immortality by inspiring others to write about him in short story and song. Always the charismatic and dapper character, he even had a cocktail named after him: Mr. So’s Cocoa. His spirit continues to prompt creativity.

Mata Hari preceded him in death in 2003. Mr. So is survived by his family: Errol, Kristin, Oliver, and Jean Fouquet, and his feline sister, Stella M. Fouquet.

Special thanks goes out to friends, Chris Sauer, Christine Ciarmello, and James Thiebaud, for consorting with Mr. So when the family was away on vacations.

There Will Never Be Another You: https://youtu.be/3xpcBx1Gm-c

Comments

Perpetual Poetry: Words Inspiring Words, a review

"Reading Karen Lillis" copyright 2014 Kristin Fouquet Perpetual Poetry: Words Inspiring Words a review of The Paul Simon Project by Karen Lillis I have a confession to make. I am not a poet. I write fiction and I believe writing poetry is a completely different process. I love reading good poetry, but I am in no way a poetry scholar. These are the reasons I usually do not review poetry chapbooks. The Paul Simon Project by Karen Lillis is only my second exception to this rule. Influenced by Simon’s words and music on the album Still Crazy After All These Years , Lillis duplicates the song titles for her poems in this collection. Some follow a similar path as the subject of the song; others venture in their own direction. The album’s title song inspires a poem which mimics the melancholy and sentimentality of the original. Yet, she pumps it up with a contemporary edginess and gender reversal. In “My Little Town,” Simon sings,

You Were Perfectly Fine by Dorothy Parker

"Martini" kristin fouquet This is my favorite hangover story. A raise of the glass to the inimitable Dorothy Parker. You Were Perfectly Fine by Dorothy Parker The pale young man eased himself carefully into the low chair, and rolled his head to the side, so that the cool chintz comforted his cheek and temple. “Oh, dear,” he said.”Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear. Oh.” The clear-eyed girl, sitting light and erect on the couch, smiled brightly at him. “Not feeling so well today?” she said. “Oh, I’m great,” he said.”Corking, I am. Know what time I got up? Four o’clock this afternoon, sharp. I kept trying to make it, and every time I took my head off the pillow, it would roll under the bed. This isn’t my head I’ve got on now. I think this is something that used to belong to Walt Whitman. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.” “Do you think maybe a drink would make you feel better?” she said. “The hair of the mastiff that bit me?” he said.”Oh, no,

Photographs in Exist Otherwise, Issue #6

“Masks are made of different kinds of material: cardboard, velvet, flesh, the Word. The carnal mask and the verbal mask are worn in all seasons. “ - Claude Cahun Happy Bastille Day! It was on another French Holiday, Mardi Gras, in 2022, I used my old Kodak Brownie film camera to capture the festivities. I'm delighted to have three of those photographs, "Mardi Gras Birdman," Mardi Gras Flock," and "Mardi Gras Toast" published in Exist Otherwise, Issue #6 with the theme of Masks. Many Thanks to editor, cc bovarysme!

Le Salon Annex

Search This Blog