Thursday, Apr. 30, 2015 - 9:01 p.m.
Old Hippies
************
When I was a kid
I knew older hippies
who had a couch
that they modified
with holes so a family of tame ferrets
could live inside it.
in the evening, the ferrets
would come out and
mingle with the humans.
I found this out too late
after I was using their washroom
and, while I was standing there
making water in the loo
a ferret crawled up my pant leg
I didn't even know they had ferrets
I thought it was a rat
and so in .005 seconds
I flew down the stairs
to the outside front yard
mid day in summer downtown Toronto
pulling all my clothes off
and throwing them behind me as i went.
The old hippies comforted the ferret
and told me that was uncool
to get so worked up.
I was pretty worked up
after having a small furry animal
crawl inside my clothes
I learned after the fact
the old hippies kept ferrets
to combat t actual rats
in their slummy house
Rats I learned, only come out at night
and if the hippy family each hold a ferret
while watching TV
then they are relatively rat proof
as long as they don't spill food
which I guess they did
often enough to attract rats
I got to know and love the ferrets over time
and would like one myself'
they do sort of stink
but are very cuddly
and get on well with cats
if they all grow up together
Rats have never been a problem
anywhere I have ever lived
but I have never lived downtown
where rats tend to live
