In Memoriam: Allegro

This is Allegro shortly after he took over his New York place.

Here he is with Joseph Rescigno—his rescuer, his champion, his protector, and his hero.

After that long long trip, he found that he had a grand piano, cable television, toy mice, and fine dining.

His first challenge, though,
was to negotiate
détente with Mr. Bear.

From Mr. Bear,
he learned to
keep watch over
West End
Avenue.

But it was his
own idea
to keep
watch over
the piano
from the top
of an 8-foot
Chinese screen.

Tanya showed him around the stacks,
supervised his playtime, and
may have taught him a thing
or two about grooming.

Pictures we regret we did not take of the guy we sometimes called the Flying Kitten:

• Allegro climbing the drapes on his first day in his new place.

• Later, Allegro climbing the trunk of his first Christmas tree.

• Allegro jumping on a speeding broom and riding it into submission.

• Mr. Bear’s giving Allegro a boost onto a chair with a large, well-placed paw to his little neck.

We never dreamed that we were running out of time to take more pictures of him.

But he was always a kitten.

And we know that you can tell what kind of a guy he was from the depth of our grief.