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History of BLAZE The Cat
In the small town of Watervliet, New York, the mighty Hudson River flows quietly along its shores. Along it’s banks, there were many icons of industry and alike. In one very particular part of town, close to the mouth of the original Erie Canal, were shadows of the past seen in the shape of rusted and worn buildings of days gone by.
It was in one of these aged monuments of the industrial revolution of the 1930’s, a large warehouse, there were but two lone residents. They were a very happy couple that did not mind that their home was a bit tattered and worn and rusted from Mother Nature’s touch.
They were Tinker and Rita, two very contented cats. They had taken up residence in this seemingly abandoned warehouse and found it the perfect place for Tinker (appropriately named) to carry on with his various inventions and, well, “Tinkering”.
Tinker was white with a few select black markings. He was always off early in the morning, first to fetch a good breakfast for his beautiful wife, Rita and then for himself. After, he then would spend most of his day gathering this and that and coming up with some of the strangest things. At times even he didn’t know quite what he had made.
Rita was as pure and white as the driven snow with green eyes but they were very sensitive to light and so she would always wear a big bonnet or a lovely “fashioned” hat. She always kept their humble home a place to be proud of. Very, as the English may say “Spit Spot”.
Now Rita was with child and due to give birth in the late of August. Tinker was very excited and was very busy making such things as cradles and toys. Rita would sit in her rocker fashioned from a large old coffee can and some bent limbs, and knit blankets for her children to come.
It was now the 10th of August, the day had been very warm and humid but the early evening began to cool and the breeze from the river made it much more comfortable.
Tinker and Rita had just finished dinner and were about to have some of Rita’s famous clover pie when there came a loud rumble of an engine. It was getting louder and closer and they (Tinker and Rita) were somewhat frightened.
Soon the engine was right outside the main door of the warehouse. There was the opening of two doors and then footsteps, two pair. The Main door started to open slowly and there was a lot of whispering. They (Tinker and Rita) could smell the aroma of cigar and another smell not yet certain of what it was.
In walked two large figures, their shadows were cast long from the setting sun as they entered but indistinguishable due to the brightness of the sunset itself. They stood there a moment looming in size. They were carrying something but still the cats could not see just what. Then things happened quickly. The things they were carrying were large cans of gasoline that they were starting to spread everywhere. Tinker had Rita stay put as he got closer to see what they were going to do.
The two men (as it was now determined they were) stopped and muttered something about money and insurance and then they walked back to the main door. Tinker thought they were just going to leave but the larger man turned and flicked his cigar into a puddle of the gasoline and suddenly the entire floor of the building BURST! into flames.
Rita had seen what was happening and when the flames ignited, called to Tinker but he did not hear her. She ran as fast as she could go along the ceiling beams, out a broken window, cutting into her fur a bit as she leaped onto a smaller roof and down to safety. Tinker did not see her go and ran back up the various pieces of machinery to their home site but as he leaped up to a beam, it collapsed, taking Tinker with it.
Rita was laying in the nearby grasses by the front door and now was feeling the cut from the window. There was a roar of fire engines coming closer and the very first to arrive was firefighter Dave Blaze. He saw that the building was engulfed and did not enter right away. He then heard a whimpered “meow”. Looking to the grasses where the sound came from he saw Rita. She was hurt and he could see she was also very pregnant.
As the other apparatus began to arrive Dave took Rita up in his arms carefully and took a blanket from a compartment on his truck and curled it up on the front seat of his truck in the cab and placed Rita out of danger for now.
When the fire was finally out, Dave drove back to the firehouse and decided he would keep Rita for a while until she had delivered her kittens. Rita cried and whimpered silently for she now knew she would never see her Tinker again.
The next Morning, August 11th, Dave went into the firehouse kitchen and near the refrigerator, in a cardboard box, where he set Rita after tending her wound the night before, he heard some stirring and scratching sounds and went over to find two pure white kittens. They were identical twins.
Rita had given birth to twin boys. She knew, for now, she was save with Dave and wanted to remember the person who saved her and her children by naming one of the boys BLAZE. The other boy was named after her Father Thomas. Rita also made sure that the boys knew all about their father.
Dave took very good care of Rita and the boys and tried to teach BLAZE and Tom right and wrong. BLAZE listened very carefully and learned about the firehouse, safety, fire prevention and firefighters. Tom on the other hand never seemed to listen and would always be straying away, causing Dave to go looking for him and bring him back home.
One day he did not come home anymore and was abducted by the Foolery family who abused and neglected him. This caused Tom to become hardened and feeling alone.
The stage was then set for BLAZE and his nemesis Tom and the need for BLAZE the Cat to form his Firefighter Support Team and Help turn his brother Tom around.
Please help BLAZE teach Safety and Fire Prevention and to turn his brother Tom around.
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