Albert the Cat

Welcome back. Here's your friend Albert, the friendly ginger tomcat, trotting along the rain-damp pavement, ready for a night on the prowl. The slight wind twitches his ears. Actually, Albert doesn't really prow. He wanders. He likes to look at things and see people. He collects friends just like he collects names. Maybe you've got your own name for him. He loves company. See how he hasn't set off yet? He's waiting for you to follow along. But before we go, let's pause for a brief wind-down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it, in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to take a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Hold it for 4, 2, 3, 4. Breathing out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Great, now returning the breath to normal. At a conservative estimate, Albert probably has at least 100 names. Think about it, and if you've ever been fortunate enough to associate with a cat, you probably had more than one name for them, right? Albert has many associates. He was born in a shelter and he was the only ginger kitten in a litter of four. One of the volunteers there was a Scottish guy with red hair and he named the kitten Braveheart, but little Braveheart escaped from the shelter before they could re-home him. He had no interest in the settled life and he picked out his chosen family for himself. He knows an artist who calls him Leonardo after Leonardo da Vinci, a famous redhead. He knows a local collector who calls him Red, the Redster, Monsieur Rouge, Van Rouge, and increasingly Vinny. He's known as Tiger, Hero, Heathcliff, Dr. Cuddles, and Squidge, not to mention the numerous variations on Albert, such as Al, Albi, Albus, Alibaba, Albert The Great, King Albert, and simply King. At the bakery, he's known as Mischief. Okay, okay, this isn't a hundred names, but we haven't got all night. Albert is something of a legend around these parts. Admittedly, a cat doesn't have to do very much in order to be regarded as a legend. They need only expose their paw pads at an opportune moment or rest their chin on something. At this moment, Albert is patrolling the walkway in front of a building of short-stay apartments where he...