Here’s hoping the “special sauce” on that thing is made with coumadin.

The disease will not spread to humans or other animals but is not curable in cats. Fourteen of the cats have been adopted, but another 16 need homes by Feb. 5 or they’ll be euthanized.

Here’s a story about the situation. You can contact the shelter by calling 757/365-6318.

My husband and I send messages like this one to each other most nights, though we tend to use the singular pronoun I. This time though, I didn’t recognize the number on my phone. So I responded:

“Um, who r u?”

Their response: “Um, I don’t know. Who r u? Do you have beer?”

So now I was really curious. Who the heck was this? It was from a 907 area code, so I looked that up on the internet. Turns out it’s from Alaska. So I’m thinking, whoever this is, if I’d known they were driving that far, I’d have bought better beer.

My response: “Ha! As a matter of fact I do! But ur 907 area code is a long way from my place!”

Their response: “I’m with your love! You know, brownish hair, voluptuous lips.”

Now I’m really intrigued. I suppose my love’s hair is brownish, but I wouldn’t call his lips particularly voluptuous though they are quite  nice. Then I realize this text-messager isn’t referring to my husband.

My response: “My beagle?”

Then, there’s five minutes of radio silence. Finally this:

“OMG! I’m soooo sorry! We’re visiting my daughter and her boyfriend in MD. We’re from Alaska. I thought you were my daughter’s boyfriend. Thanks for having such a great sense of humor! Happy Holidays (to you AND your beagle).”

As a lifelong copy editor, she’s much better at spotting this stuff than I am, but the glaring error I got in an email last week would’ve been hard for anyone to miss.

The subject line of the email announced “Virginia Senior Pot Laureate.” Naturally, I was curious because I wasn’t aware that Virginia bestowed such an agricultural honor. Turns out the press release was about Virginia’s “senior poet laureate,” a Warrenton woman who is to be commended for earning the title four times since 2005.

I can’t decide if the missing “e” was an oversight by the PR professional who sent it or a purposeful “mistake” designed to get me to read the email.

Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how so many cars seem to run into that wall on such a regular basis. According to a story written in 2008 by former transportation reporter Kelly Hannon, the wall had been hit about 10 times over a 24-year period.

I can’t think of another local structure that’s been such a consistent magnet for bad drivers. And yes, I’m blaming the drivers, not the intersection. That T-intersection isn’t difficult to negotiate at the posted 25 mph nor is it hard to spot–you can see the blinking traffic light several blocks away.

Also that wall has been there for more than 150 years, so I feel like no driver should be surprised by its presence. That’s like running your car into the Washington Memorial because, oops, you didn’t realize someone had put it there.

I think the next moron who plows into that thing ought to get out there and lay the brick to fix it.

In any case, at one point they were performing “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and they sang this lyric: “Gloooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deo.”

And I remembered singing that in chorus as a kid, wondering who the heck Gloria was and why “eggshells” were so important to her.

In any case, if you’d like to attend the free Candlelight Christmas Concert, it’s at 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 and 3 p.m. on Dec. 11, in the Spotsylvania Middle School auditorium, 8801 Courthouse Road.

The full chorus will also perform at 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 at The Village at Spotsylvania Towne Centre’s Concert of Light show.

I think she still hangs it, albeit on the back of the tree.

Do you have a beloved—or not so beloved—tree ornament with a back story? If so, send a close-up photo of the ornament and a few words about it to egross@freelancestar.com or Edie Gross, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.