Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A true story--by Angela Hunt


‘Twas the day after Christmas, and all through my house,
A creature was stirring, and it wasn’t a mouse.

I had carried some clothes to the laundry with care,
But noticed an odor stink-i-fying the air.
My puppy, as always, followed me in,
And tried to nudge past me, heading straight for the bin.

Now becoming suspicious, I pulled out the hamper,
And my jolly good spirits felt quite a bit damper.
For there on the floor, amid puddles of pee,
Proof of a rodent intruder was quite plain to see.

In Florida, you see, we have twelve growing seasons,
So our rats are cat-sized, for obvious reasons.

“Eeek,” I screamed, but I can’t tell you why.
No one else heard me, no one was near by.
So I yanked out the clothes, threw them left and right,
Till I emptied the hamper, and oh, what a sight.

Holes—one in the whites bin, and one in the darks,
And two in the lights bin—my rat foe was smart!
So I pulled out the washer-- the big dryer, too—
And fell on my knees to search for guess who.

No nasty rat—but lots of rat droppings.
I reached for the broom and made plans to go shopping.
I’d clean up the mess, then head straight to the store—
Where I’d buy rat traps and glue pads and quite a bit more.

Steel wool, insulation, some nails, a new hamper,
Mostly something to make that fat rat family scamper!
When I made it back home, I set straight to my task,
And filled the small rat hole, then rested at last.

The truth of it is, as this story shows,
I love all God’s creatures—but not in my clothes!

8 comments:

Joyce H said...

That was awesome! You are so funny!

Gloria Penwell said...

What a hoot. It's not funny when it's happening though is it?

Unknown said...

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade> Glad you can joke about it now. It's great, reading about it.

Anonymous said...

Tip o' the hat to you, Angie. Sorry for your "wildlife." You handle it with your customary aplomb--and a poem, too! (I, on the other hand, was freaking out at ants and termites visiting! Hope I'm more like you when I grow up. LOL)

Hope your situation is resolved.

Blessings--and peace for the new year!
Mary Kay

Suzanne said...

Such a sight is the rat at night
who seeks to find his home
within your clothes of life.
Such rodents we fear,
especially when we know they're near;
and can't be seen! Except,
for their presents left behind.
Here and there, little reminders,
scattered about and within our life.
For, such it is, these assailants of the night
find delight in the warmth of the whites.

I feel with you, as I once lived in Florida State too. For me, worst thing, it's the spiders!

Such is Florida State.... In my five years spent in various locations, I choose to think of the good things and not the marauders. But one does do well in going through the steps to keep the two worlds apart. Thank goodness humans are still larger creatures!

Suzanne McMillen-Fallon, Published Author (available early 2011)
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/Mommy’s Writings.html (currently not active)

Unknown said...

Been there and done that, too! I killed 6 (yes, I said "six"!) mice in one day in my dining room/kitchen. Over the span of a week, I think we killed about 15 mice just in our apartment. The exterminator said there was a nest between the walls and he couldn't get what was left of the family. It was quite a long time before the scratching sounds went away. Ugh.

Suzanne said...

Love it. Don't love your situation, but love your attitude about it.

Southern-fried Fiction said...

I feel your pain. We have one living somewhere, but we can't find out where! I blame the ivy the hubs planted in the back yard. The rat explores the deck at night for tidbits the dog might have left. Since the deck is close to my bedroom window, it wakes me up.

I love living in the outskirts of civilization ... except for the natives.