The rat

No, not Disney. (heh)


The most commonly found breed of rats found in New York is called Rattus Norwegius. It is more commonly called the brown rat or New York City rat. (wow, claim to fame for the Big Apple? aw shucks...)


Well, these unpleasant neighbors of ours usually stay out of sight. Under the garbage bags. At the end of the subway platform. Underneath your local restaurant that just failed it's inspection.


We've talked about rats before. There's the local garden Monkey calls "the rat garden." (for obvious reasons, natch). We've seen them on the platform. We note the "poison" signs in local green spots. 


But yesterday? Yesterday took the cake.


We were standing at the SW corner of Broadway and 105th, waiting for the light. I was holding both Monkey and Jellybean's hands. And we saw a rat - in broad daylight mind you - running across the street towards us.


I didn't move, thinking that if we jumped around the chances were greater we'd get in its way. And hoping the rat was smart enough to not run RIGHT AT US.


No such luck.


The rat literally - and I mean literally - ran between Monkey's feet. It had to leap above her shoes a bit to make the space by her ankles.


She told me it "tickled."


I may have burned the socks she was wearing.