Monday, December 17, 2007

That's a B - F - R! What are you afraid of?

I like roller-coasters. I'm not really afraid of heights, water, or bridges. I've jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose! I don't mind the dark, as long as I have something soft and cuddly near by. Snakes don't scare me too much. I once had one for a pet. I was stung by 32 bees at one time. Hornet, Wasps.... been there and done that too. Big barking, drooling, mean dogs - as long as they're a safe distance from me are cool. Spiders - I'm not particularly fond of but give me a shoe or some tissue and I'll take care of them too; Generally, I have a healthy and cautious respect for things that can hurt or injure me and as I get older, I recognize that the list of those things is growing. But for the most part, I think I'm pretty normal and not really phobic about anything...



Except RATS.... ! Oh No! those things give me the heebie jeebies. When I was a kid, I liked the Michael Jackson song Ben until I found out it was about a rat. Then I threw the 45 vinyl record away. I Launched it like a Frisbee. I threw it off my back porch as hard as I could. It was a windy day and it sailed like crazy. It landed on some one's roof two streets away. To date, I still haven't seen the movie Willard. The movie Ratatouille was pushing my personal limits. I was bamboozled into seeing it and fortunately it was animated. Otherwise, I would have walked out. As it was, I think I had trouble sleeping afterwards.




All this to say that- while all of the people at Conservation International were all in a buzz today about all the cool new animals discovered in Indonesia - I held steadfast! I walked over to my big huge map of the world and put a big red X on the Foja mountain rain forest in Indonesia. This is a place I won't be visiting anytime soon. I love to travel and I was somewhat seduced by the thought of going to a place with cool undiscovered mammals. Then I saw the picture of this BFR. That's short for "Big Freakin' RAT!"







This giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat









Holy "Rattus norvegicus" Batman! Look at the size of that critter! That's what I call a Jethro sized rat! This guy could no doubt give Josey's 4 cats - cadet, cali, snax, and trixie, a run for their money. And BellyDanceGirl, I'm sorry but if this guy gets loose in your city, you'd better hide your kitty.



For more on Conservation International and the other critters they discovered: Click Here -Giant Rat in Lost World



Michael Jackson performing Ben



5 comments:

josey said...

ROTFL!!!! that made me laugh so hard...one of our nicknames for our cat, snax, is The Rat. HAHA!! its cause when she was a kitten her tail was really long and skinny like a rat's. hehe! so now, most of the time we call her something with the word "rat" in it. we make all kinds of stuff up! HEHE!

now, your pix of that BFR is really creepy!!! i dont know if i'd be afraid of it or not--probably would run from it if it came toward me with its gnawing little (big? LOL) teeth and beady eyes! hehe!! i think my cat, cadet, MIGHT give him a run for his money. he's a big boy. ;) LOL.

im not afraid of many animals or insects--but i know tarantulas would definitely freak me out if i had to touch them or let them walk on me. some boys i used to babysit in high school had pet ones and i think they forced me to touch one once--but THAT'S IT! =)

intrepidideas said...

You're funny. You know you got me with that image of the Rat running after me with the teeth and beady eyes... Yuck! I think I'll need counseling.

SerenityLife said...

You did not know the song, Ben, was about a Rat? It was on the soundtrack for a movie called Willard. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067991/

I had to go to summer camp in 1981 and they taught me this. I cried because I had no idea either the song was about a rat.

Rats are GROSS. I have seen them here at the subway in NYC and they are so big I sometimes think they are a squirrel. Yuck!

yo@yo.com said...

You may think I am crazy but rats do not scare me as much as possums. I found a possum on my front doorstep (when I lived in MD) and those red eyes freaked me out! and that tail! the tail was as long as a snake.

since i moved to DC i have come accustom to the rats and yes I have seen a rat(almost)as big as that giant.

Jane Turley said...

Wow! You've jumped out planes and been stung by bees.. for a moment I thought that you were Indiana Jones...until the rats...You would have been no good in that underground chamber stuck inside a coffin being clamboured over by hungry rats..

You do sound like a bit of a thrill seeker though Mr I!

I once forgot to put my granny knickers on and accidentally put something smaller on. That was a bit of a thrill I can tell you.