This musing is true and one that I may or may not share with my grand kids, I have not decided yet, maybe you can help me to come to a suitable conclusion:
The Bahamas really was paradise when I moved there from Canada in the winter of 86, I remember boarding the Air Canada plane in Toronto when it was -30 and then stepping off the same plane about 2 ½ hours later into glorious warm sunshine. I was relocating there for a 2 year contract as Sous Chef, a management position I had never held before and a position which came with the benefit of complimentary staff housing.
They say there are two great days every week when working in the Bahamas, one is pay day which needs no further explanation and the other is your day off. The most popular pastime during your single day off every week was lazing around the beach, wearing mirror shades girl watching and drinking Becks beer by the bucket due to the immense boredom. Everyone at that time seemed to be having sex in the Bahamas and to be honest, being 26 years old, sitting on the beach and watching the endless parade of topless girls walking back and forth all day was starting to take its toll on me, my hormones were going crazy and I decided that I needed to find a girlfriend of my own.
There was one girl in particular who I had taken a fancy to and who was a croupier at the hotel casino, I decided to ask Susan out and after she agreed we went out for a night on the town. After having my first night dancing and drinking with her, I went back to my room and entered my bed alone and tipsy.
After I had taken care of my later than midnight munchies, I fell asleep with a half eaten bag of potato chips on the floor next to the bed side table. I was woken up with the sound of the paper bag rustling around, I moved across my bed to turn on the side table lamp and when the switch was clicked on I looked down and saw nothing. Thinking the last glass of tequila had taken its toll, I turned over and went back to sleep again only to within seconds of me settling heard the rustling of the bag again.
Feeling rather annoyed, I turned around again, switched on the table side lamp only to see the same blank space on the floor next to the bag of chips. I realized that, the sound of me moving in bed to switch on the light alerted whatever it was to hide and wait for me to turn off the light again before moving in again on my snacks.
Feeling like Sherlock Holmes, I turned off the light, stayed completely still with my hand on the switch and waited for the paper bag to move. On hearing the bag move, I immediately switched on the light and to my horror I saw the biggest, fattest, most well fed and ugliest rat I had ever seen looking up at me with my sour cream & onion chips all over its whiskers and paws.
This bloody stinking rat, no thief I should call it, swaggered ever so slowly with a waddle and its hips swinging back and forth before it disappeared behind the fridge. I walked slowly to look behind the fridge only to see a very large hole in the wall.
The next day I got the engineering to come and put a large wooden plank over the hole and believing that it was all sorted out went to sleep only to find out he had other entrances all mapped out around the apartment.
This went on for weeks, it would come in and I would follow it, find its entrance and plug the hole until I finally got fed up and went to see Rentokil.
They gave me a very large sticky glue tray, which I placed near its latest entrance and went to sleep, the next morning when I checked the tray I saw there was a very large rat arse shape stencil in the middle of the tray where the glue and the rat were supposed to be. There were glue foot prints all over the kitchen where it had obviously been looking around for something else to eat during the night.
On explaining to my Rentokil specialist what had happened, they told me that they had never seen a rat big enough to release itself from a glue tray so they decided to go for broke and gave me a very large tray of poison.
The problem was I had become very attatched to my rat friend and did not want to kill the thing, but I had realized that I could not go on like this and laid the tray of food next to its current entrance. I could not help but think what a disaster and passion killer it would be if I managed to get Susan to enter my room only for the both of us to find the rat waiting for its normal and regular potato chip supper.
The next morning when I woke up the tray was empty, as I looked at the empty tray I felt quite sad and remorse for killing my regular visitor.
A couple of days later I was in the canteen having lunch with a few of my colleagues and Susan was sitting there alone. I went to sit down next to her with two spoons and offered to share the large slice of American cheese cake and 2 huge scoops of vanilla ice cream that I had pinched from the pastry kitchen minutes earlier.
She looked very sad and I asked her what had happened, she told me that “Henry” had passed away and that she was heartbroken. I felt very sorry for her and told her that I was sorry for her loss, I enquired if Henry was her brother, father or another member of her family and she announced, “No it’s my pet rat, I live in the staff housing and I found it dead at my bed side when I woke up this morning”
Oh dear lord, I once had an incident with mice in an Amsterdam hotel, but that sounds much worse! I awoke to a rustling from the bin and nearly had a heart attack when about 10 mice streaked out of it when I turned the light on…yuk.
Spring’s slowly arriving in Harrogate now Mike, it’s 14 degrees already at 10 in the morning…finally!
Hi Simon,
After 30 years of travelling I guess you see lots of things and have many memories that you can share, some good and some bad.
I always try to put a humourous twist on events if it is at all possible.
Ten mice coming out of a bin would scare most people
I am very glad to know that Harrogate is warming up a bit, mum will be going to see the crocuses at the stray when they are out.
Nice to hear from you again Simon, take care buddy.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Aw, I had pet rats when I was a teenager, they are friendly lovely little creatures. What a tragic story! But you never did say, if you got lucky with Susan
Hi WMM,
If I did I could never tell you due to the fact I would have had to have been a very bad guy to indulge without telling the truth
So, with this in mind, of course not!
Thanks for dropping by and hope to hear from you again soon.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Oh my, a rat large enough to escape the sticky trap?? and then you killed her pet rat? Oh well, she should have kept the rat in a cage if she wanted it to be her pet.
Hi Connie,
You are a woman from my own heart! lol
Anyway, all these old stories are great when they help me walk down memory lane.
I love to tell stories that somehow help people to connect with each other and stories that hopefully helps others make sense of their own past.
Thanks for dropping by and I hope to hear from you again soon.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Aw, I had pet rats when I was a teenager, they are friendly lovely little creatures. What a tragic story! But you never did say, if you got lucky with Susan
Dear Christopher,
Being a gentleman I would never tell
Thanks for dropping by and we hope to hear from you again soon.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Dude great story! Didn’t see that punchline coming!!
Hi Fabian,
Trust me I never saw it coming either, I was gob smacked when she told me about her rat.
Thanks for dropping by.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Ahh, such a sweet tale… I didn’t see the end coming either!
In fact, I had Susan down as a changeling destined to spend her nights as a rat, creeping into your room wanting you to “see” her and reverse the curse… and I was kind of hoping the end of your story would reveal why!
Hi Reeta,
You see how your story ends better than mine, I should of contacted you earlier.
The thing is with my stories they are all true so I don’t need to use much imagination really, I just need to have a good memory
Thanks for dropping by,
Warm regards,
Mike.
Wow! Quite a twist to the story..
Hi Mei,
The best thing about writing these stories is that I do not have to use any imagination at all due to the fact that they are all true.
Glad that you enjoyed the story and thanks for dropping by again.
Stay healthy, happy and confident.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Hello Michael:
What a pity!…but Michael, you didn´t know first , that “Henry” was a pet, but the worst: Susan´s pet :-O!!!.
I love and enjoy your stories.
My best regards
Happy Sunday
Alba
Hi Alba,
Glad that you enjoy the stories and that they make you smile.
Guess I will have to write some more than
)
Warm regards,
Mike.
Hey Mike,
Funny, but tragic tale. Being a Lab I deplore all manner of bad things to other animals; however, this is one certain cat who annoys me to no end. Do they make a non-lethal poison that would render said cat into a deep coma for about one month or even a year?
Enjoy your writings.
Sam
Hi Sam,
Yea it was the shock of my life and I really did not want to hurt the thing.
I am glad to note that you are an animal lover.
Thanks for dropping by and I hope to hear from you again soon.
Warm regards and take care!
Mike.
Ahh, such a sweet tale… I didn’t see the end coming either!
In fact, I had Susan down as a changeling destined to spend her nights as a rat, creeping into your room wanting you to “see” her and reverse the curse… and I was kind of hoping the end of your story would reveal why!
I bet you bought her a half dozen rats!
Remember the movie Ben?
I used to rent a room in a terrace house with a rat problem. Once, I cooked chicken soup and while in the hall, heard a ruckus in the kitchen. When it was safe to enter, I discovered the rat had lifted the lid from the pot and the drumstick was lying on the stove. Till this day I have the phobia of living on landed property.
My landlady and housemate used to lay out the cage trap and I’d freak out whenever a rat is trapped when she’s out of town. I’d sweep the cage onto a dustpan and leave the cage out in the garden. I’m okay with roaches but rats really freak me out. That’s why I live in a condo.
Great story! But did you ever tell Susan how Henry came to his untimely demise?
Hello Sir Michael :]
At first reading the title of your story I was like
” should I read this? ” “would it be okay? [ look behind me] and then ” Okay, I guess It’s not that bad” o.O
Then I started to imagine what was written in the story especially the rustling paper bag lol.
I enjoy the story and I laugh on it. I so love the twist.
I should read all your stories.
Goodluck