First Cat SOCKS CLINTON, 8, takes his name from his distinctive white paws. Rescued as a stray in Little Rock AR, he was adopted by Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton in 1991. After the Presidential elections the following year, he moved into the White House, succeeding George and Barbara Bush's spaniel, Millie.
      SOCKS WRITES: Most nights, I sleep in a little hideaway I've found in the basement of my White House. I wake up around 5:30 a.m. After I do a couple of slow stretches and wash my face, I mosey up to the family headquarters to lie down on Chelsea's bed. By the time she wakes up, I'm pretty hungry, so I'm off to empty my bowl. I visit Chelsea again before she goes to school for another ego-boosting stroke and a drink to clear the throat. I'll miss her when she goes off to Stanford this fall.
      I met the Clintons back when they lived in the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock. I was a stray kitten and Chelsea's piano teacher took me in. Then Hillary and Chelsea saw me and asked if they could keep me. I guess I must have already have had my amazing charisma.
      They named me Socks. The name has given me a bit of a grooming compulsion. I'm freaked out when my paws lose their just-washed look. Then I might be renamed Sockless or Moccasins or something. It might be cool to change my name to a pawprint -- you know, The Animal Formerly Known As Socks.
      Every morning, I play on the South Lawn. I don't have much choice, actually. I'm always on a leash, and Bi11's minders watch over me. The leash is about 20 yards long, so there's a good deal of slack for exploring. I've found a great place near the Rose Garden where I can sit and do -- guess what -- my grooming. I never eat the grass -- I think that's a foul habit. I did chew a little grass back in Little Rock, but I never swallowed.
      Some days, Bill or Hillary will see me on the lawn and we'll share some quality petting time. But often I curl up under one of the big windows and take a nap. I nap a lot -- at least 16 hours a day. If I'm not napping, chances are I'll be meditating, though it's tough for anybody to tell the difference.
      After the 1992 election, I was pretty stressed. First, some eager-beaver photographers picked me up and made me pose. Fortunately, my family put a stop to that; they printed buttons that said "Don't Touch The Cat." Then after we moved into the White House, my fur got ruffled when Chelsea told me they were writing mean things in the papers. They had me doing stuff like scratching the furniture and swinging on the drapes. No way! I don't even use a scratching post, for goodness' sake!
      My funniest time at the White House was when all these people were were running around looking for some papers that had gone astray. Nobody asked me where they were! Can you believe it? Is "white water" another name for milk, by the way?

      Hillary has helped me with my public image. One of my favorite times is Christmas, when I go with her to National Children's Hospital in Washington. The kids love me. Many of the children keep writing to me long after they're better.
      Most days, I'm let off the leash around noon so I can check out what's going on inside. If it's a really roasting day, I'll pick a nice marble floor somewhere to stretch out and maximize my surface area.
      The best place is on the windowsill in the usher's office on the State Floor. I might sneak a book in and secretly read a bit. I'm currently reading "Devil in a Blue Dress" by Walter Mosley. I identify with strong black characters like myself: Martin Luther King, Duke Ellington, Donna Summer. For a long time, I thought George Clinton -- the guy who wares the wild outfits in Funkadelic and Parliament -- was a relation. No such luck.
      Early in the afternoon, after that important second meal of the day, I swing by my buddy Neel Lattimore, Hillary's press officer, and paw over the mail. I get so many letters that Neel set up a special all-volunteer staff together to answer them all. The Washington Times once ran a story about my correspondence staff, and Bill had to answer questions about how much my fan club was costing taxpayers. (Editors note: The answer is Nothing.)
      Then there's merchandising. Now, there's a word I didn't know before I became the world's most powerful cat. Since the Inauguration, there have been cartoons, t-shirts, mugs -- even a Sega video game. Did you know I'm supposed to have written a book? "Socks Goes To Washington: The Diary of America's First Cat." Purr-lease!
      I think anthropomorphism is basically sick. Some people in the White House think it's cute to speak for me in a squeaky voice. They say things like, "Now where did I leave my Mister Mousey? I wish I could speak in their voice and say something like, "Hi, I've just lost my shoes!"
      In fact, cats have a rich language of meows, howls, shrieks, grunts, purrs, and hisses. My dream is to have that language officially recognized by humans the world over. Call it Felonics. Or CATatonics. That's as political as I get. I'm a DemoCAT, of course -- I have to show some party loyalty -- butt really, cats are too independent to be party animals.
Towards the end of the afternoon, I'm back inside. If there are lots of feet scurrying about, it means there's a state banquet or something, and I hightail it to the basement.
      When Chelsea gets in from school, we watch TV together. Frankly, I'm beat by 8:30 p.m. I finish any leftover food in my bowl and sneak off for some sleeep. I used to have recurring nightmares in which I was not re-inaugurated, and I had to scram to make way for Bob Dole's schnauzer dog and Liddy's tank of rare tropical fish.
      Fat chance.
LETTERS TO SOCKS
Dear Socks:
      My cat Lilly disappeared about a month and a half ago. In my search for her, I learned that about 15 cats have disappeared since March from my neighborhood near American University in Washington DC. We are trying to find out who is taking them, and I wondered if you might publish something about this problem in your newsletter. I would really appreciate it. I can be reached by email at het3@columbia.edu . Please let me know if you can help.
-- Thank you, Hannah Trooboff, Washington DC
Dear Hannah,
      I am pleased to pass your letter on to my readers. I can't fathom the cruelty of a catnapper. I hope your cat returns. I hope Washington DC police increase patrols and take action against the wrongdoers.
-- In sympathy, SOCKS THE CAT

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Q. SOCKS, the Clinton family cat, has been keeping a low profile in the second term. Is he by chance writing a book about his experiences as First Cat? How does he feel about keeping his litter box in the White House another four years?
-- Linda Hassa, Brick NJ

A. Like his owners, SOCKS, who is about 8 years old, loves White House life. "He has grown into it," said Neel Lattimore, Hillary Clinton's press secretary. "He has no plans to put paw to pen yet, but George Bush's dog Millie did it, so there is a precedent." SOCKS, a homebody who doesn't travel with the First Family, avoids the press office ("too many cats there already," said Lattimore) but in good weather, he spends almost all day outside, with a view of the Oval Office.

Q. I hear that Chelsea Clinton's cat, SOCKS, has been sharpening his claws on the White House furniture and Oriental rugs, causing thousands of dollars' worth of damages. Exactly how much was the damage, and who is going to pay for the repairs?
-- Ruth Assaid, Roanoke VA

A. White House spokesman Neel Lattimore says SOCKS, a neutered male, hasn't ripped up any furnishings and has shown only the mnost impeccable manners since moving into the White House in 1993. "His favorite places to hang out," adds Lattimore, "are on the ground floor marble hallway, which is cool in the summer, and in the basement boiler room, which is warm in the winter. He's footloose and fancy free. He's the First Cat, and he's leading the good life."

      The Clintons have their cat SOCKS, but the President should heed the words of Harry S Truman, who said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." So advises Roy Rowan, whose book First Dogs, co-authored by Brooke Janis, was published in June by Algonquin Press.
      Rowan notes that the Oval Office has been called "the loneliest place in the world," and most Presidents have had dogs, because they are loyal even in the worst of times. They also humanize their masters in the eyes of the public and may even win a few votes in a nation whose citizens own 58 million dogs. In fact, Calvin Coolidge once said, "Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House."
      George Washington bred hounds and kept diaries about them -- including a vivid account of how one, Vulcan, stole a cooked ham from the dining room table. George Bush's dog, Millie, wrote her own White House memoirs (clever pooch!). The publication raised $889,176 for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. In between the two Georges, our Presidents have seldom been dogless.
      So what sort of dog should the Clintons get? Roy Rowan suggests that they look to the school where Bill and Hillary met -- Yale University, whose fight song, written by Cole Porter, starts off, "Bulldog! Bulldog! Bow wow wow!"

1. They don't like anything unless it's expensive.
2. Even the fat ones are graceful.
3. They take lots of naps, interrupted by long periods of sleep.
4. They have interesting fantasy lives.
5. They couldn't care less.

      SOCKS THE CAT FAN CLUB supported the Potomac Valley Golden Retriever Club's spring auction with a donation of a "SOCKS THE CAT FASHION PACKAGE." The auction benefited Golden Retriever Rescue Education and Training, which provided food, medical care, and shelter to "orphan" dogs. "We sincerely appreciate your gift and assure you it contributed to the success of our evening," wrote auction coordinator Martha Cole Glenn of Arlington VA.
      SOCKS THE CAT FAN CLUB is delighted to assist local animal welfare charities. Please contact us.

      We mourn the death of Mildred Bush, 12, the nation's First Dog from 1989 to 1993, put to sleep after a stomach ailment, May 30, in Kennebunkport ME. Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush was a best-seller for more than six months in 1995.

      The beloved springer spaniel of George and Barbara Bush, Millie is survived by her human family, her mate J. Fred Bush, and her 12 pups, born in the White House.

Photo by Todd France, Collage by Dave Hardenbrook 

      On April 1, Marléne Danielle played the part of the slinky Bombalurina in the musical CATS for the 4,648th time and became the Broadway actress with the longest-running streak of performances.
      She has been singing and dancing the part at Broadway's Winter Garden Theater since opening night, October 7, 1982. CATS is Broadway's third-longest-running show.
      A cat-lover herself, Danielle lives in Jersey City NJ with 11 cats of her own. She who won't reveal her age in either human or cat years, but she was born and raised in New York City and dreamed of becoming a ballerina. In 1978, she apprenticed with the Dance Theater of Harlem. For the next few years, she played in shows on- and off-Broadway, including Little Shop of Horrors and West Side Story.
      In 1981, Danielle auditioned for the New York production of CATS. She didn't get a part, but choreographer Gillian Lynne decided to put her in the show before it opened the following year. She landed the permanent role of Bombalurina a year later. Of the original Broadway cast, only Danielle and Cats Chorus member Susan Powers remain.
      "For me it's stability, the chance to live a normal life like people who go to an office," said Danielle. "I love cats. I love their movement and mystique. And I happen to be a Leo."
      And we love CATS!

I loved this book. Who can resist a book that features SOCKS on the very first page? The author writes of Mrs. Clinton:

      "She was thinking about Richard Nixon, and also about Chelsea's cat.
      "Sitting in a hotel room in Cleveland only hours before her husband was to be elected president of the United States and she to become, arguably, the most powerful woman in the country, Hillary Rodham Clinton thought of the man who, as much as anyone, had started it all.
      "Richard Milhous Nixon, that glowering phenomenon of American politics, had aroused a generation of reformers, goading it with his vision of a govemment - and a society that was arrogant, compassionless and unwilling to yield power. Few had been aroused more thoroughly than Hillary and few had found such thorough vindication. Just at the moment she was helping Congress draft the rules to impeach him, Nixon had resigned from office.
      "Then, with bizarre irony, he had returned in February 1992 to taunt her with his sly prediction that her independence would hurt her husband's political prospects. This time his words had aroused another group-fellow conservatives who sought to turn Hillary into the issue of the day. Could it be that not once but twice in her life she would be given the satisfaction of having the final word on Richard Nixon?
      "Her daughter Chelsea's cat, too, was something of a symbol. Socks, the furry black-and-white stray who made Chelsea and her and Bill feel better (even if she and Bill were allergic to him), was a connection to a very different life from the one that featured the likes of Richard Nixon. Cautiously, she had begun to think about the White House and how she would give her twelve-year-old the chance to have her own life and be able to grow up as normally as possible.
      "That was what she was going to be focused on, she said that afternoon in Cleveland, if she woke up the day after the election and Bill had won. Socks would be part of it. She wondered, Would he be the first First Cat since Amy Carter's? A Secret Service agent had told them there were mice and rats in the White House. Could that possibly be true? Did Barbara Bush really find a rat in the swimming pool? Maybe it was because there were no cats. Hey, this was even a political plus! Cat lovers would feel enfranchised again.
      "Exit poll," she deadpanned, playing the election day polltaker. "Did you vote for the Clintons because they have a cat?"
      "The potential was mind-boggling.
      "I love it!" Hillary Rodham Clinton cried, convulsed by a genuine moment of absurd humor. "Oh, God, I love it!"
We enjoyed this book, and we think you will, too.

 

__ Ralph Bellamy __ Bill Clinton __ Jim Curley __ Michael Douglas __ Henry Fonda __ Harrison Ford __ Edward Herrmann __ Hal Holbrook __ Anthony Hopkins __ Tom Howard __ Walter Huston __ Christopher Jones __ James Earl Jones __ Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon __ Kevin Kline __ Fredric March __ E.G. Marshall __ Raymond Massey __ Donald Moffat __ Donald Moffat (again!) __ James Naughton __ Jack Nicholson __ Donald Pleasence __ Bill Pullman __ Peter Sellers __ Lane Smith __ Franchot Tone __ Rip Torn

A. Abraham Lincoln B. Advise and Consent C. Air Force One D. Blind Ambition E. Clear and Present Danger F. Contact G. Dave H. Dr. Strangelove I. Eleanor and Franklin J. Escape from New York K. Fail-Safe L. First Kid M. Forrest Gump N. In the Line of Fire O. Independence Day P. JFK Q. Mars Attacks! R. Nixon S. Seven Days in May T. Sunrise at Campobello U. The American President V. The Final Days W. The Right Stuff X. The Man Y. Under Siege Z. Wild in the Streets AA. Abe Lincoln in Illinois AB. Superman

CAT OF THE MONTH

Before their feeding bowls,
like silent gods pondering
the failure of religion,
our two cats sit perfectly
still as Egyptian stone
statues, one gray, one black.
Their gazes pierce the air
above the empty bowls,
they miss their daily offerings.
The conjunction of cats, bowls,
emptiness and silence reminds
we have a moral contract
more binding than man-made laws:
to feed and adore them, they
to be themselves and everything
we attribute to them.

A cat's silence is pervasive
as incense as it sits after dinner
conning the essence
of linoleum by the back door.
Soon or late, a human is impelled
to open the door, hold it wide
while the cat yawns, sniffs
the night and decides he might
as well take a stroll since the door
is open, sure the world and we
will wait for his walking.
After dark, we too place ourselves
by a door and go confidently out into sleep
with the same careless assumption
that our housing will let us back in
on our return, that the world we know
waits for our waking.

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WHITE HOUSE TO HOST FALL GARDEN AND HOUSE TOURS       The White House hosts its annual Fall Garden and House Tours on Saturday, October 11, 9 am - 12 noon and 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, October 12, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. You can view the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, South Lawn, Rose Garden, Children's Garden, and State Floor rooms in the White House. Military bands play on the South Lawn. No tickets are required. Line up at Southeast Gate. You can use cameras outside in the gardens, but not inside the White House.
      You can also take a regular self-guided tour of the White House any Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Obtain timed tickets at the WHite House Visitor Center at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue and line up on the Ellipse to enter through the Southeast Gate. For more information about any White House tours, please call 202-456-2322.

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HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON FAN CLUB ANNOUNCES "PROJECT READ"
TO HONOR HILLARY'S 50TH BIRTHDAY       The Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) Fan Club, with members nationwide and around the world, has announced a Volunteer Reading Tutor Project to honor Mrs. Clinton's (shh!) 50th birthday, October 26, 1997.
      The program, inspired by Mrs. Clinton's life-long efforts to help children and her book It Takes a Village, will help fulfill President Clinton's goal of every child being able to read by the end of Grade 3. Each Fan Club chapter is requested to select members to lead the project, help volunteers contact local schools to offer their assistance, and teach volunteers effective tutoring methods.
      HRC Fan Club co-chair Dr. Ruth Love added a few thoughts:
o   The reading experience must always be a positive one. Reading is fun!
o   The student needs to be reminded often, "I can Read"
o   Frequent and close coordinations between the tutor and the student's classroom teacher is a must
o   Even half an hour a week, one-on-one, with a student will make a difference
      SOCKS adds, you don't have to be in HRC Fan Club to volunteer at school to read to children. You can do it at home and you can do it anywhere.

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Photo by Beverly Goods

RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL CELEBRATES
SOCKS' SECOND INAUGURATION

      The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Arlington VA celebrated the Second Inauguration of America's First Cat with a unique SOCKS Inaugural Ball Suite. Thousands of guests visited the gala suite, which featured dozens of diploCATs and musiCATs, detailed "Kitty-Rena instructions," and a formal table setting for SOCKS and his friends with catnip-topped cream drinks.

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PLEASE JOIN SOCKS THE CAT FAN CLUB
IN WISHING "HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY"
TO BILL CLINTON ON AUGUST 19       No surprise party for Mr. Clinton this year -- after last year's 50th birthday bash, thhe secret is out -- his 51st birthday rolls around on Tuesday, August 19.
      The well-kept secret, however, is that August 19 is also Tipper Gore's birthday! Join SOCKS in meowing Happy Birthday to both of them.