Rat Killing

This summer will be remembered by many ... as the hottest ever... with weeks and weeks of no rainfall ... the drought of 2012.

For me, though, it will always be the summer of the rat killing.

Figuratively ... and literally.

My dad used to tell us that he'd been ... tending to his rat killing ... I always liked the sound of that.

There was something romantic and heroic about it.  And it is one of my favorite ways to say I am taking care of some unpleasant business ... that can't be put off any longer.

After my battle with ... the rat king ... and his gang ... I will never use the phrase casually ...
or lightly ... ever again.

Mice have always wandered in from time to time.  Easy to spot ... easy to trap ... just one of the challenges of rural life.  Rats, on the other hand, are something entirely different.

The rats showed up ... as soon as I started leaving food out for Macy ... the invisible cat.  Not sure where Macy got off to ... she was never actually seen after the day of her arrival .. she meowed her way through the night a few times ... than she was gone.

Maybe she was raptured ... and we were all ... left behind.

Hopeful that she would come out from her hiding place, we filled her bowl with food each night ... and each morning it was empty.

It didn't take long before there were scurrying noises in the walls and evidence of pilfering in the pantry.  And then the sightings began.

One would be spotted dashing along the baseboard ... or ducking behind the washing machine.  Flip a light on late at night ... in the kitchen or pantry ... and it was literally ... a rat race ... for cover.

Funny.  I've had my scare-rat on the stove for years.  It's a rubber rat that came home with us one year from a dirty Santa gift exchange.  Much like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, it obviously didn't scare much of anything!

Rats are bigger than mice.  And it is unsettling and disturbing to have them in your home.

In the old days, I think they used guns and dogs ... for rat killing.  I can only imagine what a field day Pete would have had ... ridding the house of the rats.

I called the professionals ... to find out what needed to be done. 

Poison was one option.  Not really a good one, though.  If the rats crawled back into the walls before dying ... then removal was going to be an ordeal ... and a mess.  All that  I spoke with advised against poison.

Trapping ... killing ... dumping the bodies ... was touted as the most effective method to rid the house of the rat infestation. For a price, I could let the ... professionals ... set traps and empty them.  Or I could man up ... and do it myself. 

So I went out and purchased a bunch of rat traps ... and let the rat killing begin!

Rats are highly adaptable and expert survivalists. According to legend & lore, rat "medicine" will teach you to be resourceful in the midst of  change. And the rat will give you strength and trust in the process.

That explained it. Why the rats were in my house.  The changes I have been pursuing ... simultaneous to the rat killing ... have demanded more courage and faith than
I could ever imagine.

And my rat research raised some interesting questions.

Have you accumulated too much emotional baggage?  
 Rat "medicine" will help you examine what is no longer needed and allow truth to come forth in the midst of worldly illusions.

Is it time to let go of thoughts, ideals, perceptions, people or places? 
Rat "medicine" will instill self assurance and transform fear into abundance.

There is much wisdom associated with rats in many cultures.
Watch and listen ... as the rat moves.  That was the advice found in the messages.

On one post, the question was raised ...  
"What does it mean when rats move into your house?"

And one responder wrote ...  
"Rats are clean, social, fertile and highly intelligent.  Like attracts like ... "

That made me smile. Somehow all of my rat research made me feel better
about the whole situation.

All in all ... there were 37 rats trapped ... that's a killing ... no doubt.
It has been an epic adventure.

When I finally brought down the King Rat ... I felt every bit the conquering hero.  He was the biggest rodent ... I have ever seen ... up close and personal.

Of course, there have been repercussions ... discovered after the fact ... of the rat invasion.

In the midst of the string of days ... topping 100 degrees ... there came the air conditioner leak ... from the upstairs unit ... through the ceiling into the downstairs bedroom.

Plaster fell ... the bed was soaked ... and if the new floor had been installed .. it would most likely have been ruined as well.

After three trips ... and two different heat & air guys ... it appeared that the problem in the drain had been fixed.  No more leak.  Than three days later ... part of the ceiling just fell out ... on the other side of the room.

Turns out the rats had eaten all of the insulation off the pipes running across the room ... above the ceiling.  So that required, yet another, visit from the heat & air guy ... and then a handy man to repair the hole in the ceiling.

Apparently the heat  ... along with a steady supply of food & water ... is what drew them into the house.  Once I quit putting their bowls down each night ... they became more creative.  Not only did they uncover the a/c pipes to get to the condensation ... for water ... but they also chewed a trough out of the dishwasher drain hose.

For the longest time, I thought the brand new dishwasher was just leaking ...
for no apparent reason.

Dealing with the home warranty company about the ceiling repair ... was almost as frustrating as the rat killing itself. The contractor selected to do the repair didn't seem to be motivated to get over here and do the job.  It took several calls ... and over a week ... for him to show up.

When he did ... he was ... well, he was delightful.

He shuffled in ... reminded me a bit of Fred Sanford ... full of self-deprecating stories and jokes.

As he entered the front room ... his eyes lit up ... when he saw the baby grand.   
"Wow! That's beautiful," he said.  "I was a music major in college."

Alrighty then.

He went on into the bedroom and got right to work.  Not only did he good-naturedly patch the hole in the ceiling ... that was covered by the home warranty ... but he cheerfully took care of the area where the original leak had caused some of the popcorn to fall ... that wasn't.

On his way out ... he stopped in front of the piano.  In awe, he reached to touch the rosewood lid covering the keyboard.

"May I?" he reverently asked.

I explained to him that the piano hadn't been played in ages ... was out of tune ... and had at least one broken string.  None of which I intended to remedy until the new floors were down ... and the piano moving was done.

Gently he touched the keys ... and instinctively began to play.  It was a jazzy melody ... then softly he began to sing ... it went something like ...

when you're down .. in times of trouble

keep on trying and you will discover a kind heart

no matter who you are

I was mesmerized.  It was as if he was singing ... straight to my discouraged spirit.
It touched me deeply.

He was lost in the song and the music.  Then suddenly he stopped.  And apologized.  You know, how truly humble people do.  It reminded me of all of the times Jessi would say ...  
"I'm not in trouble, am I?"

I told him that it was beautiful.  He was overwhelmed.  He asked me urgently if I really thought so.

Moved by him ... and his song ... I assured him that indeed I did ... think so.

He told me he wrote the song.  And that he had written many more.  He played bits and pieces of a couple of others.  You see, he was having a hard time remembering them ... exactly.  It had been over 15 years since he'd had a chance to play one.

I asked him if he'd ever done anything with the songs. "Oh yes, I've had them copyrighted," was his reply.

But no one's ever seen them ... or heard them ... because no one ever encouraged him ... or believed in him. 

Time stopped.  There in my front room.  As this humble, hard-working man ... who had shuffled in to do the most basic ceiling repair ... unwittingly revealed his heart's desire ... to me ...
a total stranger ...

It was a gift of the highest order.  And there he stood ... eyes averted ... waiting to see if I would receive it.  Or maybe it was the other way around ... because to ask is to open the door ...
to receive ...

"Let me talk to some people I know," I said.  
"I am positive they will want to hear your songs."

The transformation was immediate.  He stood a little taller.  His eyes were glowing.  In an instant, hope had been released into the mundane that was his life.

"Thank you so much, Ms. MaryJane,"  he said as he closed the lid on the piano.
"Did I tell you that I was a music major in college?"

Not only did he fix my ceiling but he lifted my spirits ... he restored my faith as well.

He's called several times.  It's taken me a little while to get it all lined up.  When I called to tell him that he'd be hearing from some folks next week who wanted to hear his songs, he told me that he'd pretty much given up on me.

I laughed ... because he doesn't know me well enough to know that ..
I always do what I say I will do.

It's hard to know whether the rats moved in ... to give me strength to face the giants.  Or whether it was the only way for Levi to show up & receive a little bit of hope ... a little bit of encouragement ...

Either way ... I reckon it doesn't really matter.

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c)  september 2012