Holy Effin' Ess.
Tomorrow after work I board the train to head home for Thanksgiving. So to facilitate in that going smoothly and to not leave myself too much to do, I decided to take out the garbage tonight after straightening up my apartment. I don't like taking it out after dark for various reasons. 1) There is no light at the bottom of the stairs out back, so I'm left feeling my way down. 2) It's quite dark and damp and muddy out to the dumpster. 3) The dumpster is in the alley outside the locked gate. 4) I'm lazy. 5) On this particular night, it's raining.
But I did it anyways because I didn't want to forget and have stinky garbage festering while I'm away, or have to deal with the fact that I can only lock one of the two locks on my back door from the outside.
Still, it was bad news. I gingerly made my way down the stairs without breaking my leg. I hopped over the mud puddle without getting too much on me. And climbed the stairs again up to the overflowing dumpster. I lift the lid and toss my bag in and let it slam down. Right then something fuzzy and rat-shaped leapt out at me, ricocheted off my stomach into the alley, started running back in my direction, and then changed direction after almost running over my frozen-in-terror feet, behind the dumpster, and down the alley.
The strangled cry that made it's way out of my throat was not the bloodcurdling scream you might expect, but the panic in it was just as real.
I can still feel those little feet rebounding off my quivering belly.
But I did it anyways because I didn't want to forget and have stinky garbage festering while I'm away, or have to deal with the fact that I can only lock one of the two locks on my back door from the outside.
Still, it was bad news. I gingerly made my way down the stairs without breaking my leg. I hopped over the mud puddle without getting too much on me. And climbed the stairs again up to the overflowing dumpster. I lift the lid and toss my bag in and let it slam down. Right then something fuzzy and rat-shaped leapt out at me, ricocheted off my stomach into the alley, started running back in my direction, and then changed direction after almost running over my frozen-in-terror feet, behind the dumpster, and down the alley.
The strangled cry that made it's way out of my throat was not the bloodcurdling scream you might expect, but the panic in it was just as real.
I can still feel those little feet rebounding off my quivering belly.