Just an average day in Kenya

I want to tell you a story about a recent rodent encounter in our home.  Well it began one night when Sarah frantically yelled, “Nate, its a rat, quick get it!!”  I calmly replied, “Sarah you can’t just catch a rat with your hands, especially when you can’t see him, you have to get a rat trap.”  Sarah did not like this answer because the rat was in the kitchen.  We could not find it so I set the rat trap out that night.  In the morning we did not catch a rat, but he had left plenty of evidence that he had enjoyed our food during the night.  Sarah was bothered.  I was content.  Late in the day Sarah exclaimed, “Nate it’s the rat, I can hear him, he is still in here somewhere!”  I look for him everywhere and don’t find him.  I laugh at my bride and tell her she is paranoid as she had confessed that she dreamt the night before of rats invading our house.  I reminded Sarah that you don’t just catch a rat with your hands; you have to use the trap. 

On the second day, we still came up empty.  Later that day Sarah was in the bedroom and calmly said, “Nate I know  he is in here.”  Of course, by this time, I thought Sarah is crazy and just hearing things. But like a good husband I went into the room to prove to her that there was not a rat in the room.  So I looked behind the dresser and sure enough there was a cute little rat.  Sarah ran out of the room and shut the door and said, “Don’t come out till you catch the rat!”  She was not messing around.  I knew at that moment that I must emerge with the rat; our marriage depended on it.  I asked for a few items to catch Sarah’s nemesis, including a stick, trashcan, and a trash bag.  The battle was on….. Me vs. the Rat.   The battle ensued.  Back and forth it went, I would scare him out from behind the dresser, then try and throw the trash can on him and miss, and then he would go back behind the dresser.  All Sarah could hear from outside the room was a lot of banging, clanging and cursing.  This dance continued for a good 15 minutes. But then there was a lull in the battle and I could not see or hear him any more.  When Sarah heard the noise stop, she said, “ Did you get him?!”   Now, out of breath, I say weakly,“ Uhhhh, no.  I can’t find him.”  After a few minutes of looking I found him….

 He crawled up the dresser and suspended himself about 5 feet above the ground between the wall and the dresser!  Wow!! When I saw him, he was just staring at me with his cute beady eyes, as if he was saying, “What man, it was my only option…. but I guess you found me… bummer.”  I was so impressed with the little fellow! He was like a ninja rat! He stayed suspended while I showed Sarah and took a few snaps. This rat had just earned my deep, inmost respect.  I decided that I just wanted to catch him and let him go because I was so amazed with him.  But Sarah did not stand for that.  She slammed the door again and said, “We are not letting him go.”

After a few more minutes, I emerged the Victor.  I trapped him in the trashcan and slipped him into the trash bag.  I walked him outside and smashed his head with a rock.  The sheep looked on with sad faces heads when he died.   Sarah cheered,  I was a bit saddened, and the rat was unresponsive.

R.I.P.