Mice : the facts

Yesterday, looking down into the bowels of the tube, I realized I had not seen my favorite little creatures - the tube mice - for a long long time. These little cuties seem to mostly come out at night and scurry along the platform or along the tube line as pictured here:

So I thought I'd list all the things that I know about mice and creatures similar to them as an ode to the tube mice I no longer see.

1) Grade 4/5: I had a rat we called Chuck. I know a rat is not a mouse but it was cute and black and white and had a long tail. I'm not sure why I wanted a rat per se but I think it had to do with my obsession with the Secret of Nimh. I LOVED that movie. When I'd clean out it's cage, I'd stick it in the sink in the bathroom but it started to get out of there quite easily so I moved him into the bathtub. Soon that didn't work either as, I'm not sure if anyone else knows this, but rats can sure jump. They can jump fricken high! Chuck was a champion jumper.

Chuck was also the smartest rat ever. He used to escape his cage on a regular basis. I'd hear him scurry across the floor, and scramble up the back of my chest of drawers. We'd find him in the morning, sleeping in our underwear or by our socks. This also meant that poo got everywhere...oh chuck...

Chuck also had a fondness for eating everything. He ate my sisters PJs that were set to close to his cage, he ate the bottom out of my glow in the dark Halloween goodie bag and he'd regularly bite my mom when she tried to feed him. Well, she gave the food so I bet he thought she just was it.

In college, I wrote a poem for the aforementioned pet of mine. My instructor thought it was about the rat race. I think she was shocked when I told her it was actually about a rat. Here it is for your veiwing pleasure (this is my friend Joe's favorite poem):

Cheese Cheese Cheese
The Rat runs in circles
Up the dresser and down
Across the floor and back
Whiskers twitching
His nose smells the cheese in the trap
His thick knotted tail swings
Creeping and twitching forward
Heedlessly sliding towards a grisly death
The trap snaps shut
His brittle twig spine cracks
The skin h
an
gs
The nerves pu-l-s-ate
Until the Rat is no more

Does he still dream of cheese?

Unfortunately our favorite pet was taken back to the shop when we made the trek back to Alberta from Saskatchewan. Mom said Alberta had a rodent free policy. I think she just didn't want to be bitten by an oversized rat anymore. Why we called him Chuck? If you ever sang the name game song, you'd know why..."Chuck, Chuck, bo buck, banana fanna fo f--" ahem. Kids will do anything to be naughty.

2) Grade 11 : My dad took my sister and I on our biggest trip ever - Disney World in Orlando, Florida! Yes, the house of the most famous mouse ever. My sister and I stood in line in his house to get an autograph. I of course was just there to keep her company even though I, uh, um, had my own autograph book. When we got to the front of the queue, Mickey kissed my hand and pointed to the picture of Minnie and did the finger on lips "Shh...it's our little secret" symbol. I actually turned red. What a randy little mouse! AND my dad took a picture. I don't know where it is right now, but the image will be forever burned in my brain.

3) 1st year uni : I was working at an historical park in Edmonton, AB (Fort Edmonton was it's name-o) and I was on 1885 street. I ran the little covered wagon and the men loved to take pictures of me in my ankle length dress as I chopped wood. It was an interesting summer. As the place was old, they had mice. Unfortunately, there are this certain type of mice that leave poisenous poo. Yes! Poo that can kill. Of course, I don't like the idea of dying and so it'd freak me out to go into any of the back buildings in fear of discovering the poo that could kill and accidently inhaling the dust and dying. As you may realize, I survived.

4) 1st solo apartment ever : I lived in a studio apartment. It was cool. I had my own tea pot. I had a great big lovely couch I got given to me and I'd lounge on it while I played my guitar to the sound of the rain outside. It was the spring where all I listened to were Coldplay and Sarah Harmer (listening to those albums remind me of rain to this day). You know what I also had? Mice. Not just mice but secret radio-active, human brain-powered mice. They were smart. Verrrrrry smart. My landlord gave me "humane" traps. I set them out. They ran around them. They were everywhere, I could hear them in the walls, see them streaking under my computer desk, see that they were in my cupboards. And then, I found evidence one was in my bed. I gave notice immediately.

5) 1st week in London: I was living in Camden. I saw glowing eyes. I saw a rat. It was black and UG-ly. It did not remind me of Chuck.

6) Some random night in the tube : I saw my first tube mouse. It was so tiny. I watched some girl freak out as it ran towards her feet. I thought...Those suckers sure are cute. I guess all must be good in the world...