This One's For Ashley

I'm so excited and disturbed at the same time: when I put the words "hinged ramp" into the search box of Flickr, this pic popped right up and it's just what I was looking for; it's the perfect pic for today's post topic on the status of Angelica P's custom built ramp!

(Here's where I feel I should make an assertion, kinda along the lines of "brought to you by Jello Pudding Snacks" except this one is "today's post is brought to you at the request of the lovely Ashley, a die hard fan of Miss Angelica Pinkerton, Kitten Extraordinaire ".)

So yeah - when Matt and I first started talking about ramping up our feline friend's mobility and access, I thought the ramp would be a single 11 foot 2x4 that we could prop in the corner when not in use (we have ridiculously high ceilings and when I say ridiculously high, I mean I think they are, like, 25 feet high, but in actuality it's probably more like 14).

Simple enough, right? Go to store. Buy piece of wood. Nail 3 inch pieces of wood to big piece of wood to act as footholds. Lean piece of wood up against door. Viola - equal opportunity access.

Well, I forgot that Matt's mind doesn't work that way. Instead, his mind went to some foreign place I've never visited full of ideas and concepts I've never encountered, (I envision this place similar to the 24 hour study section of my college library; who were those people in there on a Saturday night at 1 am, anyway?). When his mind returned, my husband started talking about a hinge.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a dummy but a hinge? Is that necessary? I didn't think so but according to Matt, it is essential to the construction because "a hinge would allow us to fold the ramp in half so it would take up less corner space".

Um yea, because we currently use so much of that corner space?

At the time I just smiled and shook my head, pretending to think it was a fab idea when actually, my mind was reeling. Seriously, A HINGE? I mean, I'm not an engineer but wouldn't a hinge require some kind of support mechanism to keep the ramp from snapping shut and - GASP - pinching little Pinkerpins in place! Good lord, if that happened, I would come unhinged!! Seriously -if that happened, you would have to come visit me at the bench on the lawn of the funny farm where I would be spending the rest of my years in a catatonic state (make sure to bring me a fresh pair of soft, white slippers and some Aqua Life gummies - I'll probably be faking the catatonic state and will need some creature comforts).

What's wrong with a simple board? In trying to engineer the perfect ramp could Matty possibly be setting us up for an ultimate disaster? I think this is a conversation I need to have with my husband tonight; each time I glance up at this picture, a bolt of pain surges through my soul and I can hear Pinks cry.

So, What's La Pointe of It All? For me it's this: just keep it simple. Don't try and get fancy; kittens don't need hinges to know you love them.