1. Mickey's mom, Rana, is a sixth generation Texan,
raised in a small ranching community in West Texas. (And yes, that is a
distinct part of Texas, and the distinction counts -- to Texans.)
2. She used to be a college history
professor, and has what she calls a "post hole digger" degree.
3. She misses the students. She
doesn't miss the politics.
4. She began writing for her local
newspaper at age 12 and has been writing professionally in some capacity ever
since.
5. She has visited her favorite
country, Scotland, three times and claims to have seen the Loch Ness Monster.
(In theory, no Scotch was consumed in the creation of this story.)
6. In high school her very generous
parents let her bring home and keep 25 cats that all lived in a cattery her
father built in the backyard.
7. She has never been without a cat
since age 1. Her first was a black-and-white tom so small he rode home in her
father's shirt pocket. She named him Jimmy.
8. She has read Gone with the Wind
more than 50 times and seen the movie at least that many -- as God is her
witness.
9. Before "progressive
lenses," when she could see well enough to do it, she created miniature
Persian rugs from counted patterns.
10. Her favorite philosophers are Seneca,
Marcus Aurelius, and Whoopi Goldberg.
11. Her favorite color is red.
12. Last year she published a
three-volume set of essays about her growing up years in West Texas.
Thank you for sharing all those wonderpurr secrets about you, Mickey's mom. Look for
Special Feature Intermew with MickeyShorttail's Mom, Rana on March 20th.
In the meantime, you can follow
@MickeyShorttail on Twitter.