Here's a little Roman thug any nice mouse or birdie would want to avoid in dark alleys.

At the foot of the stairs to the Roman Forum, I saw it. A Cat. And a particularly nasty one, at that.




It. Was. Mauling. A. Pigeon. To. Death.

Blissfully unaware of its audience, Cat played a horrible game of, er... cat and bird, with the poor pigeon.

With a paw resting on the pigeon's body, Cat waited for the bird's attempt to freedom. Which came in the form of desperate squirming and violent wing flapping. Once or twice, the pigeon actually managed to escape. But in just a few leaps, Cat would gleefully pounce on the already weak bird, lay a heavy paw on its body. And the whole game would begin again.

But.

I couldn't bring myself to stop Cat's evil deed. Hey, it made interesting footage for my Sony Digital Camera Cybershot 4.0 Megapixels with Rotating Lens by Carl Zeiss. (Heh. Am I a true Malaysian or what?)

And also because, even a Cat - a poor, hungry stray one at that - needs to eat, right? It's the law of nature, food chain etc. That kind of stuff.

God rest this poor pigeon's soul.

Yes siree. I'm the scowler on the right.

Not too sure how old I was.

4? 5?

(My head sure looked too big. It's the hair. Yes, must be the hair.)

Cut to 25 years later.

Head, more in proportion to body.

Hair, slightly less messy.

Scowl, only appears at appropriate moments.

But. My role as black sheep of the family? Hasn't changed.

Thanks, Doctor Sis.