Re: critter tales to Jeannie

[Guest guest]

Yeah, it was pretty disgusting. There I was trying to show my mom that I was doing a good job living on my own with my son. Trying to be self sufficient. She comes to spend the night (the first time, mind you) and she's assaulted by a rat. In addition to being grossed out, I was sooooo embarassed. We crack up about it now, but I was one step away from being homeless, because I had too much pride to move home with mom. And, no, my son has never asked for any mice. He's kind of mad because I am considering getting his sister a pet guinea pig. Naa KoshieJeanne Betters wrote: Naa Koshie! Oh my WORD! That is THE most horrible story I've heard yet! I'm so glad nobody was hurt! Yikes! Your poor

family! YUCK is right! I guess it just goes to show you that no matter how nice of a place you live in, things you'd never expect can happen. And I'm willing to bet you never have to worry about your son asking for pet mice, huh?! 'Hope you're having a day of wellness - Jeannie "Naa Koshie O. Mills" wrote: Although I live in the suburbs now (better schools), I absolutely love living in the city. About 12 years ago, my son and I were renting a basement apartment in a row house in DC. It was a georgous 2 bedroom with spanish tiles. I loved it! At least I loved it until the city started digging underground to make way for the subway in my neighborhood. They would

periodically set off mini bombs underground to loosen the rock so they could dig it out. Well this commotion caused the rats to come from undergound to find new homes. They chose the houses in the neighborhood that they could get into. At first, they were in the walls. I could tell they were rats as opposed to mice, because instead of a slight scurrying sound, you heard a distinct front and back paw action when they were running around in the walls and ceiling over my head. They would get active at night after I had gone to sleep. I'd be awakened by their running and squealing, and fighting, I think they even had babies in there. It was horrifying. Growing up in Washington-DC, I was used to seeing rats in alleys and around trash, but never in my house. YUCK. I told my landlord (who lived in the house above me) about it, but because

they weren't actually in the house and not bothering her, she did nothing about them. One even fell into a crevice in the wall and you could hear him squealing for help and scratching at the wall until he died. And then, he stank. That's when I started making plans to move. One night my mother came to spend the night with my younger sister and brother. I was asleep on my bed with my sister, and my mom and brother were asleep on an air matress on the floor in my bedroom. At 4:00 in the morning I hear my mother scream and jump on my back in my bed, then my brother screams and is jumping around too. The rats had finally managed to eat their way through the walls and one had crawled up my mom's back and then jumped on my brother when she freaked out. The screaming caused my son to come running into my room and we all stood on my bed

wondering what to do. "You go turn on the light! No, you go do it!" Finally after almost an hour, I got the courage to get off the bed and run upstairs to tell my landlord what had happened. She called Orkin, but told me that she thought I was exaggerating about the rat coming into my house. When the Orkin man got there, he told me that he couldn't kill the rat, but he could set traps for it. Well when he went into the utility room to lay down traps and fill in the holes he cornerned the rat and it charged at him, so he killed it with his flashlight. GROSS! He asked me what I wanted him to do to it. I had him scoop it up into my dustpan and he layed it on my landlords doorstep. She freaked out, and finally started making all types of plans to get her house overhauled, holes sealed up, the whole nine yards. Too late sister, I was out of there! My son was so traumatized by the incident that he still remembers the phone number to what he calls the "rat apartment." Actually, we all call it the rat apartment. He was 4 then, almost 16 now. We left that day. My mom didn't like me living in the city anyway, although I loved it. To this day, I can't look at a picture of a rodent, or watch one on TV. I don't like squirrels either, they are just cute rats with bushy tails. YUCK! Sorry about the long book... Naa Koshie "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and

tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." ~ Washington Carver Do you Yahoo!?Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

~ Washington Carver__________________________________________________