Dorothy’s Place: A Stroke of Genius

I’ll just put a cricket under each heavy thing then call Fluffy and her brothers into action. Like in the days of old when our fingers did the walking through the yellow pages, their extended legs can do the swiping through the house. – Courtesy Photo

By Dorothy Denne

There was a time in my life when I actually enjoyed cleaning house.  I don’t remember when it was.  As of now I have to say that cleaning house is not one of my favorite pastimes.

Last night a cricket got into my house.  My female cat, Fluffy, spotted him and the chase was on.  To escape he crawled under the washing machine.  To grab him, Fluffy extended a front leg to maximum length and dragged it under the washer from every possible angle.  She never got the cricket but every time she pulled her extended leg back, along with it came a big dust ball.

I don’t know whether to kill the cricket, kill the cat or just move to a new house.

I don’t like cleaning but I do like my house to be clean.  I figure it is now clean under the washer but I can’t believe that was the only spot to have accumulated dust balls.  The same condition probably exists under the refrigerator, under the stove and God knows where else.  I dread the thoughts of getting out the big old tank style sweeper with the long skinny attachment for sucking dust from under heavy, nearly immovable objects.

Wait.  As I write this I’ve had a stroke of genius.  What if I get some more crickets?  There are plenty more where that one came from.  They are probably planning to move in anyway.  Their ancestors did last year.

I’ll just put a cricket under each heavy thing then call Fluffy and her brothers into action.  Like in the days of old when our fingers did the walking through the yellow pages, their extended legs can do the swiping through the house.  That way I don’t have to get out the tank sweeper, I don’t have to move and, I don’t have to kill the cricket.  Of course, I would never, ever consider killing a cat.

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