Meet DC – DonaldJay.com

Dickens Station Daily Telegraph

Monday, May 2, 2022 Dickens Station, Vermont

by Emily Dodson, Editor

Meet DC

Writer’s block had me in its death throes. With my deadline looming and my imagination fresh out of story ideas, I wandered in the dark from the modern newspaper offices in the rear of the building to the Print Shop Museum in the front for inspiration. I stared blankly through the 19th-century lead-glass pane at the gently falling snow. I thought I was alone.

An almost imperceptible plodding of footsteps on the basement stairs sent tingles skittering down my neck. I glanced in that direction, took one last, nervous look out the window, then turned to return to my desk. A shadow darted along the back wall and lunged at me. I shrieked and backed into the typesetter’s table. Movable type jostled from the upper case, and loose line-o-type skittered across the floor. The mortal owner of that shadow landed eye to eye with me and a hair’s breadth away on a nearby filing cabinet. It mewed.

“Darn you, DC! You scared the life out of me!”

The tortoiseshell cat’s green eyes glared at me like I had lost my ever-loving mind. She mewed again, asking for a treat. When my heart resumed beating, my writer’s block lifted. I mused that both townspeople and visitors alike might enjoy reading about one of Dickens Station’s most beloved residents, DC.

Even if you are not a “cat person,” read on! DC often makes believers out of those most resistant.

Even if you are not a “cat person,” read on! DC often makes believers out of those most resistant.

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DC is a community cat. This dark feline phantom has the uncanny knack of showing up in the different historic buildings around town, any time of the day or night, even in locked buildings, even in the dead of winter. Most importantly, DC has earned a reputation for bringing people together, finding lost things, and pointing those she adopts in the right direction.

Some Dickens Stationers will tell you that DC stands for “Dickens’s Cat.” That is not, in fact, correct. DC stands for “Darn Cat,” a nod to the popular Disney Movie of the mid-nineteen sixties. DC’s propensity to appear without warning has often produced from her fellow town’s folk a different “D” expletive, which would be inappropriate to print in this article.

To understand the effect DC has had on our town and its people, search no further than the origins of the “Dickens’s Cat” misnomer. One dreary winter’s day a few years ago, DC scared the bejeebers out of a guest rummaging through The Olde Book Shoppe. A relatively young man wearing a toupee that wasn’t very secure failed to notice DC keeping watch from a top shelf perched on a copy of Dickensian Whodunnits. When the man wandered within paw’s reach, DC, who is still fully clawed, playfully sent the rug flying into the cookbook section. The embarrassed owner and the startled widow who returned the wig enjoyed a hearty laugh together. Then they enjoyed tea together and dinner that evening. The two were last seen boarding the train back to Rutland holding hands.

Since the cat prefers to sleep on a volume of Dickens-related mysteries, The Olde Book Shoppe’s manager decided DC should stand for “Dickens’s Cat.” Doubters point out that the tome rests flat on a high shelf directly below a heating vent. But “Dickens’s Cat” provides an air of authenticity for visitors requiring a quick answer to an often-asked question. Some have even mused that DC could be the great author’s reincarnation (gender notwithstanding).

The local vet occasionally makes a “house call” to whichever building DC is currently in residence and cares for our hero medically. The rest of us are more like her minions. Most shop owners have a litter box tucked somewhere, a few cans of cat food in the break room, and a cat toy in our desks, all for a cat that none of us own.

So, as you enjoy the magic of a 19th-century Christmas here in Dickens Station, don’t be surprised if you occasionally hear, “Oh, I accidentally let the cat in,” from an uninformed visitor to one of our historic buildings. To which the shopkeep will inevitably reply, “It’s okay. That’s just DC. She comes, and she goes.”

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AnnMarie

1 year ago

What a great article! Love that DC even plays matchmaker! ❤️ I love the idea of a town cat. Does she guard her territory to keep other stray cats in the town?

Donald Jay

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Reply to AnnMarie

I hadn’t thought about that, AM. I believe she would if the other cat was somehow “unsuitable” for her beloved Dickens Station. 🙂

Mary Arnold

I love that DC is in print and now the town cat of Dickens Station!

Reply to Mary Arnold

Thanks, Mary. She has a way of weaving herself into things.

MWJ

Hmmm, I’m wondering if DC has a favorite shop owner?

Reply to MWJ

Very interesting question.

Lori Palmer

What a lovely story! I now understand why everyone wants to hear more about DC. She’s a gorgeous cat with beautiful markings, and an air of mystery about her.

Reply to Lori Palmer

Thanks, Lori. I will pass along your compliments to DC.

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