Have a Laugh!

Rebeccahendersonjc
2 min readJun 22, 2021

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Carolyn, Age 20 and Some Months, Whose Mouse-Catching Days Are Behind Here

When I first read this several years ago, it brought a smile to my face. Ok, I’ll admit it….not a smile, but an outright laugh. I hope it makes you laugh today!

This showed up on my Facebook timeline several days ago, and comes from the Bangor, Maine, Police Department. I hope you also enjoy it!

The crashing in the living room was not what the police officer wanted to hear. Shaken from his slumber. he had been hopeful to get four or five hours of sleep, Sgt. Wade Betters, a good dad, husband, and cop, listened intently as his six foot and 5 inch frame hung over several edges of the bed.

Busy with his larger than average family, in the midst of having a new home built, and staying in a smaller than optimal rental home, the coming daylight would soon enough force his feet to the floor for another dayshift in Bangor.

Betters was wishful that the ruckus was a dream, but it wasn’t.

Lulu, the family cat had cornered an intruder but could not seem to close the deal. When Betters lumbered into the living room he observed a standoff between cat and mouse. An epic battle of feline and rodent, both with strong wills, but Lulu looked to have a few more rounds in her.

Betters said the mouse was spent, but did appear to have excellent genetics. This was no Jackson Laboratory, genetically pure-“house mouse.” This was an outdoor mouse sturdy in spirit. Probably a mouse who understood the slogan “If you can’t stand the winter, you don’t deserve the summer.” A genuine Maine Field Mouse who had built up his wind by avoiding foxes, hawks, and other neighborhood cats. This mouse was no quitter.

Betters tried to catch the mouse himself. He could not. It scurried away into the woodwork and Betters did the same. Just one more hour of sleep.

Better’s lovely bride of many years was outside the house a little later in the morning after the sergeant went to work. She walked by the bedroom window only to see that the battle was not over. The genuine MFM (Maine Field Mouse) had been able to exit the dwelling, but wanted to let Lulu know that the game was not over.

In the difficult times we live in, my hope is that we all can find the inner fortitude of this small, yet mighty, Maine Field Mouse.

Never quit, look your opponent in the eye, and cross your fingers that if the screen doesn’t hold, you still have the energy to run like the wind.

Keep your hands to yourself, leave other people’s things alone, and be kind to one another.

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