Travels with My Cats

by Mike Resnick

This was a pretty light-hearted piece, but in a poignant way. I was glad to read it after the awfully downish "So Help Me God." There was a point where Ethan seems to have the woman convinced she will live longer than she does, but later she refers to being "brought back," as though she knows she's dead, so I found that confusing. I also thought the ending was unsatisfying. Further, I thought it unlikely that Ethan would remain as calm and potentially accepting of seeing a "ghost" as he did. Still, maybe partly because I've tried writing stories myself that deal directly with this issue, if Resnick had spent much time on how Ethan would really have reacted, I suspect that probably be what the story would have been about entirely.

I did like the theme and the easygoing writing style. I met Resnick in 1994, at a "coffee-clatch" table at Worldcon 52. He's a very affable, level-headed guy. This story matches his personality, at least as far as I can tell. I wonder how much of this arises from his own experiences. Liz said she could see some recognizable moments. That is, bits here and there spoke to her as probably coming from the writer's own life. I think that helps a story, but I'm stumped as to how to do it myself.

In the end, not a bad story, but I think the basic idea has been used a bit often and, therefore, called for a more creative ending.