Is it just me, or have the cats in town increased exponentially this year? They're everywhere, including in my garage.

I knew there was something living in the attic above my car, and I knew it was hairy. Every time I drove out of my garage, I would see tufts of gray fur and little paw marks on the windshield, top and hood, even though the garage doors had been closed.

The uninvited guest took me back to a tale I had heard about my house from before we owned the place. A local man moved in and made himself at home before eventually being discovered and sent packing. He left behind a box from a frozen pizza as a reminder of his time there.

The cat was apparently doing the same, minus the pizza. After a couple of weeks, I finally spied the wily rascal, a big orange kitty, so I cleaned the junk out of the corner of the garage until I uncovered the feline.

Even as I tried to chase it out, it tried to get back into the corner. Since then, I don't leave my garage doors open for more than 30 seconds. Again, I have been inconvenienced by a cat I don't even own.

Sometimes I get so frustrated by all the semi-feral cats in Hillsboro, I consider asking the local farmers to round up a semi-truckload of coyotes and let them loose within the city.

After a while, I suppose we'd have to get a bunch of lions to chase out the coyotes. Then, where would we be? We'd still have cats running around town, but they'd create dents in our cars when they'd jump on them.

Speaking of big burritos (were we?), my family and I were in Wichita a couple of weeks ago and needed some supper. We agreed on Chipotle, kind of a do-it-yourself Mexican restaurant.

I often tell my kids that talking to people, just making idle conversation, sometimes pays dividends. This meal was a case in point.

The manager asked my wife if she had eaten there before. She said she had, but had not particularly liked her selection. It was too spicy. When we went to pay for our meals, the young man at the register said, "Apparently, we are taking care of it. The manager said it is free for you tonight."

Stunned, we uttered our collective thank-you to the manager and went outside to eat our burritos. Somehow they tasted better when they were free.

After our inexpensive dining experience, I thought it would be nice to treat the family to some ice cream from Sheridan's on North Rock Road. It's kind of a weird place where you order your frozen confections while standing outside, sort of like the old Dari-ette here in town used to be.

(Note: We will now judge how old you are by whether you remember what used to be the only fast-food eating joint in Hillsboro.)

Anyhow, we tried to drive from Chipotle north to Sheridan's without getting back on Rock. We weaved back and forth through parking lots, including Hooters, where I witnessed a couple of girls in skimpy orange shorts delivering some wings to a pickup truck.

Actually, for those who are wondering, you can't drive from Chipotle to Sheridan's without getting onto Rock. We ended up parking in the Chuck E. Cheese's parking lot and walking to get our ice cream.

Odd? You bet. But, get this: Twice in the past couple of weeks I have entered passwords on computer software and then promptly forgotten them. Yes, I know; I should have written them down. But, in both cases, I figured I would remember.

The first time, one of my students recalled the password on a school computer. The second time I was at home. Thank goodness the software allowed me to reset everything, or I would never have gotten into the program.

I think it's the same brain lapse that causes me to work far too long without saving my progress on the computer.

We take our electricity for granted these days in Hillsboro since the squirrels-in-the-transformer problem has been solved or at least lessened to where we are tempted to take chances.

My family and I took another chance recently. We were coming back from Wichita (Again. We don't spend every spare moment in Doodah, but after all, our son lives there.) last Wednesday during a major downpour.

I figured if I could just make it to Newton, I knew the perfect spot to wait out the storm. I pulled in under the overpass at the south roundabout on the east side of town.

It was a perfect spot. But, when we left a few minutes later and tried to return to the interstate highway, we ran headlong into a wall of water tumbling down the on-ramp. It had to be at least 2 feet deep. Fortunately, the stream quickly became shallower, and we made it through. Needless to say, the reports of the deluge in Harvey County were not exaggerated.

I have often thought it would be fun to live in a town with a river running through it, but with the recent weather, I think we in Hillsboro should count our blessings that our flooding is basically limited to the Adobe House ponds and the golf course.

Some rural homeowners are occasionally inconvenienced by small-stream flooding, but we don't get the kind of wholesale damage some river towns are subject to. Just make sure your sump pump doesn't stop working in your Hillsboro basement.

Though farmers are likely saying enough already, the rain has been wonderful for my patch of new grass. After they worked on moving the water line from under Main Street to the yards of those who live on the west side of the street, the construction guys scattered seed on the bare patches that resulted from the installation of new water meters.

Thanks to all the deluges of late, the new mini-lawn is by far the best-looking section of my yard.

My philosophy has always been that even weeds look good if they are kept trimmed short enough. But this grassy patch has led me to rethink this approach. It really looks better than weeds.

Maybe you have heard of this already, but I was recently clued in on a great way to eat bananas. Instead of battling to break through the stem end, use your thumb and push on the other end. It will be much easier to open the peeling, and you will have a nifty handle to grip on the stem side.

You're welcome.