curiosity
the domestic minx
30 Comments
Curiosity is the very basis of education
and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat,
I say only that the cat died nobly.
Arnold Edinborough
I suffer from insatiable curiosity.
I'm clinging to what's left of my nine lives with all the strength I can muster,
for we all know what happened to the cat...
But there is enormous pleasure to be had sticking my twitchy little nose where it shouldn't be stuck, peering between the cracks at things my sly green eyes should not be seeing and sliding my slinky little body into holes I can't quite wriggle out of.
Call me Tabatha.
Pandora, perhaps.
Because I can't promise I won't look in the box.
I have an enquiring mind.
And if it's dangerous, dark and devilish, dubious, decadent, deep down and dirty,
you just know this cat wants to look at it.
Well, even if it's not, I still want to see it. All of it.
No secrets please. For while I wear my own like a second skin, I don't much like them on other people. I'm funny like that.
Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I like to think I can weasel a secret out of anyone. Alternatively, I promise to lurk like a shadow by the door until I hear it whispered in hushed tones.
Even as a child I was unduly inquisitive.
Armed with the ghosts of Christmas past and secrets gleaned from previous hiding spots, I would forage silent as the night, under beds, within wardrobes, behind all the skeletons in the closet to peek at my hidden Christmas presents, wrapped and labeled with my name.
I would peel back the sticky tape so carefully, gently releasing it from the paper so it wouldn't tear, following the folds of the wrapping to tenderly expose the flash of festive secrets hiding beneath them. Rewrapping was almost as surgical, my movements silky smooth and precise. There could be no evidence of tampering, no hint of deception.
I was Master of The Craft, Mistress of the Revelation and Exposer of Secrets.
I believe now the thrill of subterfuge was almost better than the opening of those few unexpected surprises under the tree on Christmas morning.
Yes, I was sly and I was sneaky but I certainly wasn't silly. I never told a soul.
I was always 'amazed' at my gifts and always grateful.
I played my game undetected for years.
Fascinated by anything secret and arcane, it was about the same time that cigarettes and cream sherry took my interest that I developed a fascination with The Dark Side. Perhaps it was my Catholic schoolgirl education, perhaps it was the fabulous cloak and dagger routine of the occult, but mysterious worlds beckoned to me like so many sirens on a rock. I imagined myself the magical Solitaire, Bond Girl from Live and Let Die. With the garnering of mystical tarot cards from the local bookshop I set about enlightening myself of this ancient and esoteric craft and lightening my friends of their dark childish secrets.
Simultanously convinced of multiple conspiracy theories being enacted in our quiet fruit and vegetable growing community, my curiosity morphed into Spygirl, an integral part of the IM Force, spending weekends initiating reconnaissance missions and drawing plans of attack on neighbouring packing sheds concealing UFO's or weapons of mass destruction.
It will come as no surprise to you I'm sure, dear reader, to find that these missions revealed none of the above. There were no pale skinned extraterrestrials, simply ordinary Italian immigrants skilled in the art of fruitpicking and it's inevitable packing.
And not all were happy about it either, especially the one with his trousers round his ankles.
My tarot cards should have warned me about him.
They should have warned me of a few uncomfortable discoveries...
Boldly, I'll admit that some investigations were fundamentally flawed and should have been called off altogether.
But the curiosity was killing me!!
Literally.
I think back now on some of my close calls as simply dangerous flirtations with some of my nine lives, my horribly seedy drug fuelled date-rape for example, and a gut churning motorcycle ride through the darkened streets of Santorini clinging to the back of a drunken stranger; learning experiences all of them, unfortunate episodes where my fur was singed, my whiskers pinched and my tail pulled.
Oh it hurt. The humiliation stung and the fear was palpable.
But has it diminished my curiosity, lessened my interest in the darkly diabolical, the deeply decadent, the seething underbelly?
Not a bit, dear reader...
You will still find me sticking my twitchy little nose where it shouldn't be stuck, peering between the cracks at things my sly green eyes should not be seeing and sliding my slinky little body into holes I can't quite wriggle out of.
For indeed, exercising my avid curiosity is one of my greatest pleasures.
Apart from a bowl of cream perhaps, a warm fire and a soft lap.
Meow.
"Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel.
True, and they have many other fine qualities as well."
Missy Dizick
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Reader Comments (30)
How magnificent you are!
My only secret is that I think I have none - and wouldn't want to appear so boring......
Meow, indeed, dear Minx! So glad to see your fine feline self this morning!
As for me, I have been gradually revealing my dark secrets, and enjoying the delicious shock that such discoveries afford my friends. Now I must venture out there to make some more, no? Care to join me?
purrrr......
Rapunzel
Oh Michelle,
I think not - your beautiful art tells me that you are unafraid to look at life and imagine, or look for, what lurks beneath the surface!!
Go forth and peek behind the curtain...
xx
Curiosity killed the cat, some say, but all it did for me was to get me locked up for the night.
Honestly, what kind of world do we live in where a gentle-man cannot peer into a lady's bed-chamber at night?
Disgraceful.
Hello my purrrfect little pussy cat friend,
Oh how I revel in the revelation of darkly delicious secrets!!
I will gladly join you for some unabashed peeking, peering and peeping!
Meow!
xox
Oh my dear Lord Likely,
A tomcat you are indeed!!
A prowling, yowling, Peeping Tom!
Meow!!
xx
As the saying goes...well according to my sister when she was talking to that truck driver :) curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back! :)
i've been ruled by my curiosity since being a child. today i call it risk-taking and thrill-seeking, simply semantics though. i believe, up to this point, i must be on my twelfth or thirteenth life. i may have some secrets, but my closest family and friends know me inside and out... no secrets. minx, how i'd like to tell you of my delectable, diabolical underground info, as i'm sure you'd like to hear. however, i abstain to on the www as my paranoia shudders the thought that it may bite me in the rear in the future... especially in my profession.
My curiosity takes me in different directions. Clearly, I've missed out on some adventure in life. It must be Catholic school. I steered clear of that, thankfully.
I am as curious as a kitten puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuring on your lap right now Minx. Once again you have out done yourself.
Isnt it funny that even though we KNOW something terrible MIGHT come of such things... our curiosity takes over and we cant stop ourselves.
I learned most of what I know today from sheer curiosity.
I read this blog every single day because I am SOOOOO curious as to what you will present.
xx
Some people live safe and some LIVE and tell us about it hee! hee! We get old and what is left is memories. I decided at a young age I wanted to create enough memories to sustain me when I get too old to be a naughty/wild girl.
I love your posts, they touch our hearts and minds in so many ways, and remind us of what it means to be WOMAN!
by the way I have decided my doll will sit on a shelf and I will add items as time goes by, like frilly knickers, a teacup, a joint ;) etc etc. Maybe she will be the host of memories past and wishes to be :)
always and forever without exception,, my minx noir... you bring me a urging very undomesticated,, to be sure.. when you speak of such things and the heightened sense of being alive, that only such inexplicable danger can bring....i reminisce,, i digress,, i am overcome...with pleasure... thank you
Yes, Lady Terri,
I've heard the same saying, but certainly not from a truck driver of curiously dubious repute...
I certainly hope your sister didn't find out the hard way about the dangers of curiosity...
xx
It's all in the semantics isn't it dear Raffi!
Oh how I would love to curl up in your lap and hear your tales of "risk taking" and "thrill seeking" and hear how your deliciously dangerous curiosity took a few of those feline lives...
An even riskier business indeed, relaying these cat o nine tales on the web where, in your honoured profession you would be open to quite a pertinent shot in your little cat's bum!
I will live in hope of one day hearing those delectable and diabolical tales of the seedy underbelly...
xx
Ah Kellypea,
The randomness of a Catholic School Education knows no bounds...
It pulled you towards the light, it pushed me into the dark side...
I think the answer lays somewhere in the middle, which means that after a little pendulum swinging I should probably meet you at that little hole in the wall sometime soon!
xx
You, like me, darling Meleah, have probably learned some of life's lessons the hard way...
Many of mine were the result of abject foolishness, some from rabid curiosity and quite a few from silly bravado...
It doesn't stop me asking what if? how about? why?
Why not?
Never lose your curiosity, darling!!
It is what keeps one young, perhaps a little singed, but eventually much the wiser!!
xoxoxo
Oh Jafabrit,
I feel the very same, darling.
To LIVE and reminisce on one's daring adventures, while still indulging a few on the side, is the most delicious wish for my autumn years!!
One must not be afraid to dip one's toe in the great pool of life! And having done that - PLUNGE IN!!
Oh yes, there are a few sharks, but so many pretty fish too, strange and wonderful creatures of the deep...
One is never too old to be naughty if one is born to be wild!!
xox
And your doll!!!
How absolutely delicious that she will slowly acquire such wicked treats.
Ah, wishful thinking indeed...
A joint!!
Beautiful...
You are an inspiration, darling Jafabrit!!
xx
My darling Paisley,
I could not help but think, as I wrote of my guilty pleasure, that it would strike a chord with you,dear one...
A wild child indeed, your indomitable curiosity and unfettered pleasure at walking on the dark side, seeking out the darkly dangerous and revelling at the thought of swimming with sharks is a deliciously thrilling curiosity.
A dance with danger heightens the senses indeed.
Like a shot in the arm!
Indeed the pleasure is all mine, dear friend.
Thank you.
xx