UNION, OHIO -- I never really expected Smokey Joe Burgess to still be alive when I got here.

That may sound odd, considering Smokey Joe is just in his early 20s. And it's not like his is a hard life. He spends a few hours each day in the summer on the lounge chair on the back patio, taking in some nature between naps. The rest of the day he lounges in the converted garage apartment. He eats when he wants, sleeps when he wants, goes to the bathroom when and where he wants and generally acts cantankerous when he wants.

I guess he's earned that right.

Smokey Joe is a cat. He was my grandmother's cat, and when she passed away some three years ago, I guess I just assumed that Smokey, already pushing 20, wouldn't be far behind. He's just not ready to leave yet, I guess.

Best we can figure, it was 23 years ago that my grandmother, "Nanny," took Smokey in as a stray. No one knows how old he was at the time, but we know it was 23 human years ago when he first marked his territory in Nanny's living room as only a male cat can do. In cat years, that makes Smokey.....well, pretty dadgum old. He's kinda slow gettin around these days, but my uncle tells me he can still bust a move when he wants to.

His was pretty much a mutual love-hate relationship with Nanny. He'd aggravate her by marking early and often and by going into rooms he wasn't supposed to go into. She'd aggravate him by bopping him on the head with a plastic bat whenever he misbehaved or by throwing an empty milk carton with a few marbles in it his direction when ventured some place he wasn't supposed to go.

Still, at the end of every day, Smokey Joe would be there with her in the bed until the next morning.

I can't figure this cat out, but I have a theory.

I think it's love and companionship. My aunt oozes love and kindness. I don't know many people who will pick up a spider with a tissue and put it outside rather than stepping on it. She's one of them. And she's always had a soft spot for cats. Smokey's one of 12 on the current roster. There are no strays in her neighborhood. At least not after they find her house.

So Smokey has plenty of other cats to keep him young, a soft bed to sleep in, and as many square meals a day as he will eat. Life is good.

Love and companionship. The older I get, the more I understand that God gives us things for a reason.

And life is good.