Actions should speak louder than looks

In the last two weeks, I have become the official Catman hotline, at least unofficially. I have received numerous phone calls and e-mails from people in the county telling me about Catman.

I have had several calls telling me his real name. No, I won?t tell what it is. Like I stated before, if he doesn?t want that revealed then I?ll keep it to myself. I?ve had some telling me of good deeds and here are a few:

? Helping a group of children on and off the bus on a regular basis.

? Buying Christmas presents for children who need them.

? Picking up trash from yards and along the road.

? Helping others pay their bills so they won?t be homeless or without electricity or water.

I?ve also received calls from people telling me that he wants to be a super hero, hisses like a cat, has a cat tail under his coat made out of a chain, refuses rides when they are offered, his name tag states ?Catman? and he wants to have whiskers implanted. I can?t guarantee any of this, but that is what I?ve been told.

Along with all these phone calls, I?ve been called numerous times regarding Catman sightings around town. These people wanted to help me get a picture of him. Sadly, I?m not in with the paparazzi crowd. I tried it once with Pamela Rogers but didn?t like how it made me feel afterwards. Besides, a nice person brought me a picture of him.

I have also had two responses from Catman himself. The first response came the day after the article. I received a sign thanking me for my article. It was weird getting that sign left for me and I expressed that feeling to others.

The second response was an apology for scaring me and his MySpace address for all I needed to know. I did log on to check it out and all I can say is ? well, OK. I can honestly say that Catman is real and out there somewhere. From all I can tell, he isn?t hurting anyone by acting and dressing differently than your average Joe.

When I was in college, we were asked to do a paper on nonconformity when it comes to what is acceptable in society. If you stop to think about it, there are things people do that are acceptable and things that aren?t. Failure to conform causes people to stare and wonder about you because you don?t fit in.

People who go with nonconformity don?t want to fit in. Instead, they want to stand out and show their individuality and attract attention. This is what I think about Catman and what he is doing.

Our assignment was to pick something that is acceptable in society and do the opposite and then write a paper about our experiences and others reactions. The teacher gave examples like: Get in an elevator and instead of facing the front where the door is, face the back. In the middle of a group of people talking quietly, talk loud. When you are expected to sit, stand even though you are offered a chair. If you are sitting in the middle of a group, stand and remain standing.

Well, I hate to admit it but I just couldn?t do it. I wrote a paper about nonconformity but I just couldn?t act a way that would make everyone stare at me. I guess I have spent my life conforming to what everyone ?should be? that I couldn?t bring myself to step out of my comfort zone and do what I perceived as out of the norm.

I guess what I?m trying to get at is that just because someone acts and dresses differently doesn?t make them bad. If Catman wants walk around town doing good deeds, then who cares about the rest.

My thought is that we should look at the actions of some nonconformists before judging. Shouldn?t your actions speak louder than your words or your appearance?

Lisa Hobbs is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].