My childhood was spent in upper-middle class bliss as the third child of a typical 1950s post-war family. Dad did the 8-5, Mom stayed home, cooked (such as it was - boiled might be more accurate...), did the laundry and kept the house spotless.
The house was never plagued by unwanted critters. In fact, I have crystal clear memories of my Mom defending her wee ones and going up against the nasty big hairy tarantulas that would appear each spring. One of those monsters that had my brother and me cowering on the side walk, she dispatched with a hoe and without so much as a cringe.
Thanks to my Mom, it wasn't until I was grown that I experienced the insidiousness of the cockroach. My first encounter, though, wasn't in my own abode, but at friends' with whom I was staying after returning to Oklahoma a couple of years after college. It was classic cockroach - going into the kitchen, turning on the light and witnessing the bugs scatter to the four corners.
It was great motivation to find my own place to live as soon as possible. But, while I was looking, I ended up cleaning my friends' duplex while they went to the hospital to have a baby. I couldn't fathom bringing a baby back to that environment. I went after the cockroaches with a vengeance that would have made my mother proud, I think. Unfortunately, my friends were highly insulted by my efforts... but I digress.
To this day, although I've never been able to match my mother's level of neat and tidy, I will hunt down and slaughter a cockroach if I see one. It's not an easy task. Their resiliency and survival tactics are rooted in unadulterated cowardice. Eons of evolution have perfected their ability to duck and run, to find the nearest crack in the linoleum and disappear at the hint of a threat or the flick of a light-switch.
But I'm persistent. I've gone so far as emptying entire cabinets to find the little coward and send it to cockroach Valhalla.
I read this morning about how it was the fault of the Clinton administration that Korea was able to test a nuke recently. Never mind the fact that during the entire Clinton administration no plutonium was produced and the existing plutonium was subject to international inspections. Under the Bush junta there were no inspections, N. Korea has had active plutonium production and detonated a nuclear warhead.
I read this morning about our Prez's accusations that the Dems are squandering our nations coffers, ignoring the fact that the war in Iraq is costing billions of dollars that are coming from... where?
I read this morning about the latest Senate scandal. Senate members knew about the e-mails, no - wait - they didn't know about the e-mails, ummm, no - they knew about the e-mails, but didn't know they were nasty, umm, Foley was confronted about the e-mails, no - wait - he wasn't confronted about the emails and, oh pshaw, the kid's not in the Page program anymore so what's the big deal?
I don't know about you, but I'm going to hunt the buggers down and do what I can to vote the cockroaches out of office this November.
