I live in the country surrounded by corn fields, dairy farms, and forests. This is generally pleasant but a recurring irritation for a motorcyclist such as myself is the existence of mice. Mice are proliffic. Their one purpose in life is to make sure other life forms are well fed. To keep up the supply they breed at a rate that makes rabbits envious.
So every fall I not only have to drain the gas from carburetors and lube the chains for the long winter's nap, I have to remove the gas tanks and seats. Also the air cleaners and anything else the little critters can use for nesting. The gas tanks have to come off because the area between the tank and frame backbone seems to be prime mouse real estate. And while they're there what way to while away the winter hours than chew on the wiring harness!? I dismantle, bag, seal, and store all the parts and hope for the best. Moth balls are distributed liberally in the hope that they will gas out the pests.
It was with great delight that I found that a gray cat had taken up residence in the garage and there was nary a sign of mouse habitation anywhere. Could life get any better? However, I made a fatal mistake. I gave the cat some milk. And some cat food. On the front porch. What was I thinking? If I was thinking at all!
The cat, who was happily providing a needed service as an independent contractor, now became a dependent of the state. Instead of sitting in the garden patiently waiting for a root eating mole to stick it's head above ground thereby providing lunch, it now sits on the front porch, staring in the window, waiting for free food to fall out of the sky. Worse, it continually expresses its opinion about its entitlement by loudly yowling every time I walk by.
The mice are throwing a party and are taking up a collection to buy more cat food. I'm back where I started except that now I have a useless cat that hates me for not feeding it. It must be a liberal Democrat!
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