
The cat's miaow - jgrahamc
http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21656623-tama-stationmaster-kishi-station-and-vice-president-wakayama-electric-railway-died
======
ddellacosta
I hate to speak ill of the dead, but one time I found myself traveling through
the area and coincidentally had to board at Kishi station. Tama-chan was
apparently the only one on duty at the time--I wouldn't have known this but
when I saw her picture I recognized her and realized it was indeed the same
attendant.

In any case, I just had to make change and get a ticket, and rang the bell at
the counter next to the kaisatsu. No one answered, and then suddenly I
realized that this Tama-chan was casually laying down and staring at me from a
chair in the office. She made no move to help me, and simply yawned! I was
quite surprised because service in Japan is usually excellent. Feeling
slightly miffed but wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt, I asked her
for help directly. She not only continued to ignore me but turned away to
stare at the wall, deliberately showing her disdain.

Finally her supervisor (I assumed) returned. He was able to help me, and
afterward, trying to remain calm, I coolly mentioned--with Tama-chan
audaciously staring right at me, completely unconcerned with her dereliction
of duty--how little help she had been.

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, she's rather useless for this sort of thing, but
the customers passing through love her."

I was honestly a bit put off and entered the gates feeling distinctly annoyed.

That said, of course I have sympathy for Ms. Tama-chan's family and friends--
may she rest in peace.

------
ovi256
This seems to me the most important article the Economist published this
month, or even this year. Not about the Greek crisis, you say ? Well,
realistically, even if you read and understood all their coverage about that,
it's not like you can do something about it. Better to enjoy this.

~~~
pinewurst
It is certainly a beautifully written article.

~~~
sparky_z
The Economist always has best obituaries. This one was my favorite:
[http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21584311-elmore-
leona...](http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21584311-elmore-leonard-
crime-fiction-writer-died-august-20th-aged-87-elmore-leonard)

~~~
hencq
Agreed, they're always beautifully written. This one is my favorite:
[http://www.economist.com/node/16885894](http://www.economist.com/node/16885894)

------
comrh
FYI: miaow is the British spelling of "meow". A difference I didn't know up
until now.
([https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miaow](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miaow))

~~~
chris_j
I'm British and this is the first time that I've seen that spelling.

~~~
alanh
Must be Japanese, via transliteration…?

~~~
to3m
No, it's definitely used, but (like "gaol") probably not as often as the more
obvious alternative spelling.

------
JumpCrisscross
> _She was made an operating officer of the WER in recognition of her
> contribution to profits, the first female to be so honoured_

------
kqr2
Meanwhile in the US, Stubbs has been the mayor of a town in Alaska for 18
years:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubbs_%28cat%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubbs_%28cat%29)

------
digi_owl
Japan, never be anything but yourself...

~~~
lovemenot
I was wavering for a while there, but your advice renewed my self-confidence.

\- Thanks, Japan

------
danso
Off-topic: I would love to see a content-analysis of front-page HN submissions
that identifies non-tech/programming-related, animal-focused submissions...and
then does a summary count to find the most popular animal. I'm guessing cats
are the Hacker News animal of choice...but it might be honeybees.

(Note: not that there's anything wrong with this. I would most definitely read
a HN-like site for just honeybees and cats)

------
mhartl
For those curious about what she looks like in her signature cap, here's a
video of Tama-chan from a 2008 CNN story:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WVPwJIoPWk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WVPwJIoPWk)

------
iamben
Paywall - can anyone summarise?

~~~
beat
A small, unimportant rail station in Japan was the home of a very popular cat.
Her popularity led to great tourist traffic and prosperity for the station,
and she was eventually made vice president of the railway and given her own
office (really!).

~~~
secfirstmd
A small cat decided to grace some humans with it's presence...and in return
generated significant wealth, helped rejuvenate a part of Japan and basked in
adoration...all while nonchalantly being a cat and looking down upon us
inferior human subjects...

~~~
beat
Mostly, the cat just looks to me like a calico we recently adopted. Her name
is Kashmir, but I mostly call her Queen Princess Jerkface. Charm isn't really
one of her strengths.

~~~
DrStalker
Tortoiseshells are the crazy redheads of the cat world.

~~~
mst
And then there's me, who enjoys the Persian breed's motto - "Live imperiously,
die inconventiently".

