Friday 16 March 2012

"Where does he go?"

my small friend asked me.
My screen saver is, naturally, a cat. His name is Felix and he comes courtesy of some cat food or other. That part does not bother me. I just ignore it.
Felix himself is rather fun. My brother-in-law found him and suggested he would make an appropriate addition to my computer. He arrived, full of mischief, and has resided here ever since -but where is here and where does he go?
It was not something that had really occurred to me before. My father had asked where the information available on the computer was stored and how it was stored but I had left the explanation up to my brother and my BIL. They are the computer wizards. My own understanding of these things is sketchy but adequate in the sense that I understand there are servers and sites and there is a need to "save" things. Right.
But where does Felix "live" and "where does he go"? My small friend was utterly puzzled by this. He had been watching Felix do things. Felix prowls in after a night out on the tiles. He knocks over milk bottles, puts muddy paw marks on the floor and more paw marks on the window as he chases the cloth washing it. He gets tangled in the telephone cord and then sits on the telephone. He puts a paw on the toy train going around the track and dives under the bedclothes. It is all great fun for a small boy to watch. Felix chases butterflies, drinks milk, watches television and rolls in a pile of leaves too. If you open his toybox he can chase a clockwork mouse, jump on a frog he never catches or squash a beach ball flat. Yes, it is fun.
My small friend thought all of this was marvellous but he was puzzled. Where did Felix go?
           "I am not sure," I told him, "He goes away if I stop using the computer."
I try to be truthful, especially with small children. I believe it is important.
           "Where do you think he might go?" I asked.
A small finger pointed at the computer tower.
          "Inside there. He goes to sleep."
Oh, of course. Yes. The logical answer.
          "I think you might be right."

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