The Mouse That Roared...and Knocked Me Flat

I have to take a break from relating my adventures from the last few weeks and share my adventure from last night.

I was going full steam with multitasking.  I scanned in pictures from the early days of the Women’s Army Corps Band that a friend loaned me, I was chatting a bit on the computer with my buddy in Huntsville, –and in intervals, I started to prepare for today’s work by washing some clothes and thinking about preparing lunch. 

Almost as if it were a mirage, a black mouse, slightly smaller than my fist, scampered along the edge of my carpet and took refuge behind a chest where my printer and scanner are parked.  I had rehearsed this moment many times in my head since I often heard mouse scratching in my former apartment on the first floor.  These scratching noises and general city noises that can’t be ignored in a first floor apartment prompted my move to the fifth floor.

In my rehearsals I calmly captured the mouse and presented the creature to security guards or the building management.  After all, I dealt with mice in Iraq and I am an American Soldier.  I am Army Strong.  

Things didn’t go as rehearsed.  I was immobile in the apartment.  The best I cold do was visit the lobby security desk.

The gentleman on duty radioed his partner to meet me at the scene of the disturbance.  With the door propped open I waved the security guard into the apartment and put on a brave face. 

I bumped the chest.  Nothing

I bumped it again.  Nothing

Fine, I thought this guy’s going to think I’m some sort of crazy woman imagining mice.

EEEEKKKK!  There it went –dodging under the washer!

And there I went, in the middle of my maniacal scream I backed over my music stand and flopped to the ground.  In fear that the mouse or one of its kin folk was gong to attack me while I was down, I squirmed upright.

“Are you OK ma’am,” the security officer asked in his slightly accented voice.

“Yea yea, I’m fine,” I replied as I limped toward the door.

The security guard confessed that he also was afraid of mice.  He called a maintenance person to take care of it, but he said nothing would happen until the next day.  I was not going to subject myself to a night of mouse-fear with bright lights on listening for the slightest scratch.

The Hampton Inn down the street from my apartment complex benefited from my misfortune.  After spending many sleepless nights in the first floor apartment, I was NOT going to spend the night with lights on in this apartment in utter fear that the rodent would appear.  Instead I spent the night in a nice hotel room lying awake most of the night wondering what I could do to prevent this from happening again.  Cost of comfortable insomnia, $150 plus.

This morning I’m extremely sore from my fall…and probably from the tension.  The morning security guard on duty assured me the mouse will be found and taken out of the apartment.  Meanwhile, I’m trying to make an appointment with a military lawyer about my rights in this situation, and researching what I can do to make my apartment less hospitable to mice. 

Since I don’t play the piccolo, I can’t do the Pied Piper thing and march the mice out of town.  I play the tuba, perhaps I can scare them out of town, except that I play pretty…just ask me, I’ll tell you all about it.

Anyone have any suggestions for ridding mice in an apartment complex 26 stories high?