Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Rats Today I spent the morning being photographed for an upcoming piece in a local magazine. Normally this isn’t my idea of fun but I consider my time there well spent because the photographer there was so informative. More specifically, he taught me a lot about rats that I didn’t know. It turns out that he has, for some time now, had rats for pets and thinks they’re great. In fact, he had three rats in a cage in his office, and brought a couple of them down for my inspection. These weren’t those big, fierce looking rats that you associate with hanging around garbage cans; they were only about three inches long, and beautifully groomed. Moreover, they seemed intelligent and affectionate. He gave me one to hold and in no time, it was crawling affectionately over my chest, burrowing into the crevasses of my shirt and licking my hand playfully. His owner told me that they’re smart enough to respond when they hear their names called and, unlike other rodents, seem to play with you rather than on you. I also read some literature in his office that dispelled some misconceptions about them that most people have. It turns out, for example, that they’re much cleaner than is generally appreciated. It just goes to show you that just about any creature can be a friend to humankind with the right upbringing. 12:33:02 PM