On one of my last trips to Strand, I happened upon one of my favorite children's books, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Every sticky grade school summer, I toted giant stacks of books home from the public library. NIMH, along with other favorites like A Wrinkle in Time, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and The View from Saturday, was checked out many times.
The re-discovery of the classic rat-centric book a couple of weeks ago sparked two trains of thought:
1) Someday, I'd like to amass a collection of all my old favorite children's books (as an ex-children's section librarian, I have a huge soft spot for Amelia Bedelia, Chrysanthemum and Blubber). Basically, I want to live in a library - complete with different areas of interest.
2) I hadn't encountered many rats since I moved to New York. When I did see one, it was usually late at night, while out at the bars or waiting for the subway afterward. Circumstances considered, many of the "rats" I'd seen at this point could have easily been a piece of trash blowing in the wind or a trick of the mind.
I found New York's lack of rats rather curious (but not unwelcome), as the vermin are kind of a symbol of city life here.
Things have changed since I last pondered the ratless state of New York. I've seen more and more of the rodents appearing as the weather warms up. Last weekend, I saw a rat hiding behind a trash can outside a local coffee shop. Sometimes I see them darting between the tracks in subway stations.
And last night? Last night, the rats were out full force at the Nassau G stop in Greenpoint. I saw a handful scampering around the platform. One was literally HALF THE SIZE OF MY CAT.
Rat 'A' - average city ratRat 'B' - rat king of the Nassau G
Cat 'A' - Henry
And the biggest rat I've ever seen? It ran. Fast. Chasing and being chased by its brethren. These rats were bold - completely unfazed by the humans sitting and standing yards away.
New York City rats are nothing like the intelligent and hardworking rats of NIMH. To be frank, they're utterly disgusting.
Love it, love it, love it, Sweet Pea! Love your little vignettes of city life, mixed with your past experiences.
ReplyDeleteForgot to tell you Jackie Broughton says "hi" and says she hasn't been able to find anyone even close to your graphic communications capabilities to work on yearbook stuff. She misses you and is very proud of you.
Dude I know we talked about the library thing, but for real... I want that too. And just yesterday I was at borders (where, similarly, I geeked out to alex about how home-y and wonderful libraries and bookstores are) where I went to the kids section to look at all the childhood books we had talked about.
ReplyDeleteIcko about the rat.
mm i want amelia bedelia's lemon meringue pies.. your blog brings me to a happy place, g-way.
ReplyDeleteUmmm...need you to pick me up a copy of Under the Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapucinski from the Strand...i'll bring you home something awesome and sexy from the Kenya.
ReplyDeletedon't have time to read the blog now, but now that I know it exists, i will!
miss you
haha i see so many rats but yeah they do kind of come and go in spurts.. rat poison maybe?
ReplyDelete