Cap'n Pine Cone, Sir, all of the Cook Cats from Georgia would like to
join the expedition again this year.

Hobbes still swears he had nothing to do with the tradition of bate
bucket tipping but regardless, he's slowed down over the years and
says he'd like to help navigate on the late night shift because laying
on the deck watching stars in the evening is right up his alley.

Sam says he likes security patrols and I'd suggest that he be put on
night patrol except that he likes to sneak up on Hobbes and bite him
in the butt, so if Hobbes is lying on the deck watching stars it might
be too tempting for Sam to pass up and then you'd have a hissy, spitty
male cat standoff on deck...well, kind of like we have around here
every night.  I don't understand it. They don't mind eating side by
side or sleeping near each other. It is so hard being the only feline
female in the house <sigh>.  We'll let you know for sure if Sam can
come after he's had his 6 month xray next week. If he isn't showing
any signs of recurrent cancer then he gets to go. I'll make sure
Hobbes and Sam have all of their medicine packed. Sam doesn't like to
take his asthma medicine so it might take a hooman to administer that
but Hobbes doesn't mind getting insulin shots and he gets some sort of
powder put in his food to help with his joint stiffness.  TAhem,
Lacey, that will be enough about me and Hobbes, young she-cat.  Ummm,
Capt. PineCone, I would like to join the Mouser this year and willing
to port on down and being swabbing decks.  I would expecially enjoy
working in security.  I still have fond memories of my first voyage
when Rocky was Head of Security and he and I would swagger around the
ship keeping the kits in line and drinking catnip tea and telling lies
about all of our adventures.  Stray tom cats have a lot of lies...er I
mean stories to tell, even if they aren't Tom's any longer. But since
Rocky is gone, maybe you could assign me a new partner. Ummm, maybe
young Missy, errr, I mean Miss Mistletoe <blush> would agree to accept
an assignment with an old, broken down ex-tom with a gentle nature.
I'd treat her like a lady cat she is and be the perfect gentleman, if
she'd agree to be paired with me on this journey. I'd really like to
get to know her better. If she'd let me. Do you think she might?

This is my email Sam. You go write your own.  Lacey back now, Capn
Pine Cone and Barnabus, Hoolicat Class of 2006, would like be assigned
look out duty with Miranda but I'm not sure how much looking out would
get done.  You might want to make note in the ship's log that my
hoomans suspect that Barnabus has somewhat of a mental problem.
Actually, they say he's plumb crazy.  Tonight he was lying on the
couch next to Mom and suddenly he attacked his back paw. He was curled
up in a little black furry ball frantically biting and growling at his
back paw and he rolled off the couch! I was lying nearby, resting my
eyes and the next thing I knew he'd slapped me and run off to the back
of the house. He tried to climb the bedpost and then he came back and
layed on the arm of the couch watching television Howard Hughes Modern
Miracles on History Channel for and entire hour. Then he watched
American Idol!  He said he can't leave for the Mouser before the
Master's because he loves golf and the best birds all attend the
Master's. He likes to sit and watch the golfers and listen to the
birds. Of course he also enjoys the latest Mummy movies. The scarabs
are his favorite part. He loves car races as well.  NASCAR is fun but
F1 is the best, they make noises that tickle his ears. See he's
crazy!

I would like to join the crew as well. I really enjoyed getting to go
site seeing in the bill of a pelican my first year. That was fun and
riding dolphins bare back is fun until they go underwater and you get
your fur all wet! I rode a dolphin named Kibbie and he told me he had
ridden in a firey boat and brought back from another place that had
dangerous things called Thread and he has a lot of interesting stories
to tell but he's also well educated in medicine.  He told me once that
if any of our feline or hooman mates have a growth they can put the
patient in the water and let him swim with the dolphins and they can
diagnose the problem. They can even determine if a creature is
pregnant.  That might come in handy," Lacey says with a scowl toward
Barnabus who responds with all innocents, "Not me, I don't know
nothing bout making no babies". and he scurries off in search of a
television.  Maybe I could be assigned dolphin translator because,
well, no one's ever wanted to pair up with me when we go to Dog
Mountain or Miranda and Caliban's island and at 9 years old I'm not
exactly as enticing as the younger kits. I think I'd enjoy just
spending time talking to Kibbie and reading to him some of our history
books.  For some reason he wasn't here during parts of our lifes. I'm
not sure how old he is, dolphins age differently you know, but he
seems to have years of experience but only knowledge of a place called
Pern.  Perhaps we could visit this Pern if we knew how to get there.

Well, that's us. Selena won't be back again. She went to sleep one
night and decided to cross over the Bridge and wait for Meowm and Paw
over there. I'm not sure why but she didn't tell any of us what she
had planned so we had to just accept it. huh? What," glancing over
each shoulder she tried to find who was whispering in a Selena
whisper. She heard "Put me on the island near my friends Frankie and
Nickie and I'll rest in peace" Lacey looks around and wonders who's
whispering in her ear then walks off to contemplate what she heard.
Totally forgettting she was talking to Pine Cone.

Respectfully submitted,
Lacey, Queen Vicious
Samuel R. Thunderpaws, Conqueror of Crabs
Hobbes, cause he looks like a Hobbes Cat
and
Barnabus, Class of 2006