I’m not sure how we got Fritz. Fritz the Cat. Just like the porn movie that was hitting the box office about the time she came into our home. I am sure my good Catholic parents were completely unaware of the parallel. One of my older brothers or sisters most likely suggested the name. I certainly didn’t pick it.
The family who gave us Fritz was Lithuanian. She was the only kitten born to the Lithuanian family’s cat, Doo Doo. Yes. Doo Doo. The Lithuanian mother’s name was Frances, and her husband called her “Fritz.” That was the excuse my siblings provided for naming Fritz, Fritz. She was supposed to be my cat. I think this was consolation for not being allowed to have a dog. I had the responsibility of feeding her and cleaning her catbox. I didn’t ask for Fritz, but in the end, I was happy to have her, despite my new found responsibilities.
We did not have her spayed. In fact, I’m pretty sure we never took her to a Vet. As such, she gave us three litters of kittens. Twenty-one kittens in all, in litters of eight, six, and seven. Shortly thereafter, Fritz was fixed.
Since Fritz was my cat, I was largely responsible for naming those kittens. Others chimed in, but somehow, I had the final say in things. It was a rarity for the youngest to ever have such a charge. I let my sister call one of them “Smokey,” much to my chagrin. I never liked descriptive names for dogs and cats, like “Pepper” or “Fluffy” of “Blacky.”
I picked some different names for the kittens, like Hercules, Oscar, and Pounce deLeon. Each litter had a kitten named Candidate. I can remember the reason clearly. I liked the name, Spiro Agnew. And that was one of my chosen names for a kitten. I think it was my brother Ed who dissuaded me in this. I think, collectively, we came up with Candidate.
All of this occurred to me today because it is Spiro Agnew’s birthday.
For those who are too young, Spiro Agnew served as Vice President under Richard Nixon from 1969 until he resigned in 1973. It appears there were some corrupt allegations against him. Prosecutors alleged he had taken bribes and kickbacks while he served as a politician in Maryland and also as Vice President.
His resignation came a year before Nixon himself resigned over the Watergate scandal.
I didn’t know anything about corruption and scandal when I between the ages of five and nine. Hence my naming patterns.
Ah, but some 50 years later, we’ve seen plenty of scandal, especially in the past few years. Some 34 people in Trump’s administration were indicted for crimes.
At least, these days, I am better at naming pets.
All of this brings me to the topic of character. It would seem to me that we all make mistakes. None of us is perfect. We are human, after all. And we error. But there is a big difference in what happens AFTER the mistake.
People of character are able to recognize their faults, their gaffes, their mistakes. And then. They are able to take that information and learn from the miscalculation or the oversight. They assimilate the new knowledge and begin to look for a better way. They can admit there is a better way.
Unfortunately, the converse of this is also true. There are people who do not have the ability to consider an alternate route, a better plan, a greater perhaps.
Spiro Agnew wouldn’t have been such a good name for a kitten. Or Jack the Ripper. Or Vlad the Impaler. But we live, and we learn.
We find new names, the next time around.
==========
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
― Abraham Lincoln
===========
“I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody.”
― Abraham Lincoln
=============
“It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.”
― W.C. Fields
============
