Looking for Us

My sister, Marcy, gives me an annual subscription to “Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles,” a monthly newsletter for people who like to collect as well as deal and invest in antiques. In this month’s edition, Terry Kovel writes about “Fated Finds,” the objects that seem to appear out of nowhere but with a specific purpose, that is, they are searching for a new owner. She comments specifically on visiting an antiques fair and noticing a silver and citrine brooch by Ada Husted Anderson, known as “Andy,” with whom Ms. Kovel had worked long ago as a teenage counselor at a camp in Maine. Apparently, the brooch had Ms. Kovel in mind, and she obliged my taking her treasured find home to join other pieces in her jewelry collection.

I think often, and have blogged previously, about the relationship between art and antiques collectors and Cat Ladies. There are many similarities that fall into the broad category of love and obsession, and sometimes of sacrifice. The fundamental differences, at least to me, lie in the calculated moves of an owner to strategically collect and trade objects, compared with the irresistible, often unpredictable ticks of the caregiver’s heart to put compassion first above addictive instincts.

The already uncomfortable temperature here has kept stray cats out of my line of sight. I suspect they are hiding underneath cars or houses to seek shelter, or wherever they can protect themselves from the sizzling heat and oppressive humidity. But, like Ms. Kovel, who felt that fate intervened when the Andy-designed brooch appeared for sale one day, I am willing to bet that the stray cats of summer will find me, very soon.

Query of the Day: How many of your cats found you?