Vallejo Vignettes — A 'supervisor' cat brings joy to Faith Food Fridays

Ever since I met my late wife Peggy in 1997, she always had cats, sometimes three at a time. Aly, a sick kitty that crawled into our garage one day, was nursed to health and provided great comfort to Peggy during her healing after chemo. 

After my wife’s passing, I cared for Bebe, the last cat remaining in our home, until she also passed away in the summer of 2020. I had a hole to fill but no time to take on a new cat.

Enter Buttercup, a friendly and community oriented feline that frequents Faith Food Fridays, a Vallejo Food Pantry where I have volunteered since 2020.

Buttercup loves us all. She "supervises" me when I turn my compost bins or pull weeds in the Learning Garden. She jumps up on the furniture, curls up on a desk and keeps a watchful eye on the office and volunteer operations.

To me, since my wife was such a cat lady, Buttercup brings all that loving and friendly energy I so missed.  

At Faith Food Fridays I make new friends, get fresh air and exercise, but getting unconditional love from Buttercup, which she extends to all the volunteers, is the frosting on the cake. We all have a lot of fun with her!

— Ravi Shankar

The mystery of the art chair

In 2019, in my early days as a Vallejo newcomer, I volunteered for the Florence Douglas Center as an art teacher. Our Executive Director charged me with producing two art chairs for our big fundraiser auction. I created a public announcement asking to be contacted by interested local talent. Vallejo High School students in Ana Velazquez’s AP Art course took one chair. I connected with Vallejo artist Patrick Duffy through a local social media site and he offered to take on the second chair.

On the day I had arranged with Patrick to give him a plain wooden chair that he could turn into a piece of art, I was with my youngest grandchild when I got a flat tire. I managed to get into a shop but was facing a three hour wait. I called Patrick to tell him about the delay and he insisted on giving us a ride home, where he would pick up the chair. I had not yet met Patrick, but I had viewed his online profile and figured he was a safe bet.

Patrick showed up within minutes and we walked out to his car, a sporty coupe that was filled with books, clothes, food wrappers, and a whole lot of other stuff. He quickly shoved things around and got us seated. Moments after starting the car he gave a startled shout and propelled himself from the driver’s seat through a rapidly opened door. Had my granddaughter not been tucked into the back between boxes, I would have joined the noisy ejection for I thought the cause of the ado must certainly be a rat! Detecting my alarm, Patrick explained that water had spilled into his lap. 

Although Patrick safely delivered us home, on the night of the auction we only had one chair. The other may still be in that overflowing car!

Patrick is no longer living, and we remember him through his paintings and photography.

— Paula Marckesano-Jones

Send us your best Vallejo stories! They should be between 50 and 300 words, tell something fun, quirky or inspiring that has happened to you in Vallejo, and read like a short story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Email your submission to vallejovignettes@vallejosun.com. An editor will contact you if your story is being considered for publication.