2 min read

Traveling these days is a hassle. The convention this year was in Minneapolis, and after considering the option of driving directly there or taking a plane and avoid the stress, I decided to organize my own travel plans and drove directly to the airport in Kansas City.

Well, everything had changed to digital! There were no humans taking care of you, just machines taking your pulse, your identification and your money. It costs to send your suitcase on the plane, and there is no room on the overhead compartments to slide your belongings without creating a ruckus with the other passengers. They all claim equal rights to the bins.

The return flight was even worse, as the plane left Minneapolis at 5 am and I needed to be at the airport at 3 am. Tried to change the flight to a more human hour, but the cost to change it was costlier than my original flight.

So, here I am at 1:30 am, organizing a suitcase I had bought locally, as the ones I had originally used were no longer able to be used on this modern form of travel.

The hotels no longer offer free shuttles to the airport, so here is another way to fleece you. The taxi was priced at over $50, and it was the only choice I had to get out of town.

I had left the car on the far away lot at the airport because of the cost of parking near, which originally was free, but now they charge you by the hour. Because I forgot to check to turn off the headlights after parking, I thought I had to call AAA to get me started – but it was ok.

As in earlier times in my career, I thought I would get home to find dirty dishes from here to eternity, but it was fairly clean, just a bit messy. Unloaded the suitcase, placed all dirties in the laundry basket, cleaned up the kitchen and was ready to sit down on my recliner, when a musty smell smacked me in my nostrils.

THE MOUSE! FINALLY, it was dead! Great news, now to find him and get rid of him at once. The poison I had placed around the house had finally worked! Hooray! I left my chair, looked around, used the flashlight, turned the chair upside down, no mouse. Looked around the living room, under the couch, the chairs, the bookcases, no mouse.

Finally, could not stand the smell, left the living room, got in my pajamas and went to bed.

The next morning, forgetting all about the smell, brewed the coffee, said hello to Grumpy, sat down in my recliner and there it was again! The smell!

This time, I turned my chair upside down, look with the flashlight in hand, and Grumpy said: Looked under the upholstery. I removed the piece of material from the Velcro straps and there he was, deader than a doorknob. I screeched, ran out of the room, and asked Grumpy to relieve me of the mouse.

No dice, he said, it’s your mouse, and your responsibility. After a few hours of looking at my chair upside down, I relented, brought a pair of pliers to the living room, along with the trash bin, held the mouse by its tail and deposited it in the trash. Goodbye my friend, better days are ahead.

Is there a possibility there are more rodents in the house?

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Elva D. Weber

Elva D. Weber

Reaching the age of 80 has been lots of fun, smiles, gifts, and a great deal of accomplishments. I heard recently "your life is great if your children are doing well" - true. I am grateful for them.