Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Update on Hemingway's cats and Hurricane Irma



Problem
1 Why are the cats called Hemingway's cats?
2 Why didn't the museum curators leave?

Answers
1 The cats are indeed 'Hemingway's' cats, that is to say, not the original cats he owned (he died in 1961), but their descendants. How do we know they are related to the original cats? After all, cats wander off, mate with other cats, and stray cats can wander in, especially if you have large numbers of cats and entrances.

Hemingway had identifiable and unusual cats, six-toed cats. The present day cats include six-toed cats.

2 Why didn't the curators' leave?
Hemingway's house is on a hilltop, safest place to be. If anyone was going to survive, it was them. If you were to choose a place to seek shelter from flooding, it would be there.

Americans are more clued up on Hemingway than the rest of the world. Here's a potted summary from Wiki:
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Additional works, including three novels, four short story collections, and three non-fiction works, were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian Front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms (1929).
Americans say raised. Brits would say brought up.

The Daily Mail comes up with an amusing headline, Six Cats and Nine Lives. I must remember that trick. If you can't find two numbers which match, just do a comparison. Take any two numbers and it works.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4870610/Caretaker-Ernest-Hemingway-s-FL-home-rides-storm.html
https://www.visittheusa.co.uk/USA

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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