The Mayor of Syria

Syria, Virginia is a small, unincorporated village resting in a valley on the edge of Shenandoah National Park. Though it has no elected officials, there was an unpaid mayor. He sat in front of the Syria Mercantile Company, greeting all who entered his town. Anyone willing to stop and have intercourse with him would enjoy a more intimate interaction.

            The Mayor’s name was Mr. Friendly. Mr. Friendly was a large white and brown tom cat. Mr. Friendly would approach humans who passed the Mercantile, and any automobile that stopped there, cock his head, meow, and invite attention. If you got close enough, he would rub up against you. If you petted him, he was in heaven. If you tried to walk away, he would try to keep you by him with an extended paw and a well placed claw, and with that cocked head.

            Mr. Friendly was simply very, very… friendly. One day my wife and I scooped Mr. Friendly up, took him to the vet, and got him ‘fixed’. He was still friendly, but there was no longer quite so much Tom in his cat.

            We almost lost Mr. Friendly one day. He tried to make friends on a flat bed trailer, without realizing that it was pulling away. Fortunately for the local Syrian population, one of the Graves brothers dashed after the departing trailer, snatching Mr. Friendly just before his accidental escape became a done deal.

            It was clear that Mr. Friendly’s amazing personality deserved a real home. Although he had a great time during the day greeting Syrians and visitors alike, at night he had to hunker down in the local barn with the rest of the feral colony. He was more like a home body. Soon he had found a home, at the Chateau Debris, a nice house by the Robinson River, where he has his own real, full time family, and can watch television with them like a real kitty.

            Syria hasn’t had a mayor like him since.