Don't Worry, THE CATS WERE SAVED at 3201 4th St. N.

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

The little white brick house at the corner of Lowry and 4th Ave. N. used to be a home, of sorts, for a notorious no account public defecator who hung out in the Eco Village before forces of revitalization took that area back. He'd go in there to squat, (in more ways than one, I suspect) he'd get kicked out repeatedly, he'd vent his fury and shake his fist.

How well I remember the bad old days when this homeless pimp and the one girl in his stable-less stable would wander the streets of the Eco Village like a Satanic version of Joseph and Mary. I won't say his name here to avoid raising his ghost. Who wants HIM back?

The authorities slapped a geographic ban on him. And he disappeared. As for the house...

It finally met its doom a couple days ago. Before THAT happened, Joy The Kind Hearted Cat Lady of NoMi was out there daily, trying to lure the strays which made their home in proximity to the house, apparently under the porch. I ran into her at Cub Foods last weekend, as I went inside to purchase frozen cookie dough for my son, whose gourmet skills are improving with every weekend visit. French onion soup! Need I say more?

But anyway. Joy was wheeling a cart full of cat food into the parking lot (of course) and we stopped to chat for a moment just like we all live in a small town, and folks run into each other in NoMi and stop dead in their tracks to catch up. (One sees the thugs doing the same thing, and then small objects and money are exchanged with furtive quick hand gestures) Joy was very concerned about the cats at "3201," worried the house would go down and they'd still be inside like Haitian earthquake victims.

It was yesterday, I think, and I was at Cub Foods to use an ATM (I'm more of a So Low food buyer, myself) and there was Joy. I received joyful word the cats had been captured and were safe, though in rough condition and needing nursing back to health.

Yay.

And so a house that stood a hundred years goes down and stray cats become its epitaph. This structure, arguably, couldn't be saved. But there's hope for other houses like 2939 Lyndale Ave. N. STEAL THIS HOUSE! More to follow.