Rat Trivia

Dear Readers, we now interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you some little known "Of Mice and Men" Trivia.

Did you know.....

1) Rats are master homemakers? They are. Wives, mothers, and any ladies who are seeking to keep a cozy home - take a lesson from the rats. They have an uncanny ability to use whatever is available (newspaper, construction paper, books, etc..) to make a cozy nest for themselves and their rodent kinfolk. Furthermore, they tend to be quite adaptable, with the ability to transform any space into a home - a box, large cushions full of stuffing, a beautiful NorthFace backpack - you name it, and they are happy to chew into it, set up house, and practice hospitality by inviting their friends.

2) Rats excel at living in community with one another? They do. None of this western, overly independent, "I-can-do-life-by-myself" for the rodent species. Nope. Where you find one rat, you WILL find many many many more rats.

3) How the rats get their names? Each rat receives a specially chosen name before he or she makes an appearance. Mickey was our first visitor out at the art centre. After Mickey died, I christened the next visitor "Minnie" - it only seemed appropriate. Once Minnie met her maker, the name Rattigan was chosen, from "The Great Mouse Detective." Phil and Mladen, the two aforementioned visitors from Cyprus, have had some amazing experiences with Rattigan. But more on that later...Of course, in keeping with the "pre-naming" process, I had already named Rattigan's successor "Templeton." And folks, Templeton has made an appearance and met his demise...but again, more on that later. But Templeton's death poses a problem...we have yet to name the next rat! My dear sister, Blaine, decided to help me out...here is her list of options.

"And just so you don't forget, the next rats' names have to be:

Miss Bianca (Rescuers)
Chuck E. Cheese
Fievel (Just thought of that one!)
Gus and Jaq (Cinderella)
Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb (Beatrix Potter!)
Jerry (Tom and Jerry)
Reepicheep
Speedy Gonzales
Stuart Little"

Lovely names, Blaine, but I really struggle with the idea of killing off Miss Bianca (she's so lovely!) and I REFUSE to murder Reepicheep (Chronicles of Narnia...Reepicheep was a HERO! He saved the day!!)

So what do you think, friends? What should we name the next rat? I'm leaning towards Hunca Munca...

Stay tuned for two new episodes of "Of Mice and Men" - coming soon to a blog near you!