this is what happened. some years ago while living in the deep south, i worked for a local furniture/appliance dealer as an appliance tech/delivery man/handyman. i spent a lot of time dealing with people living well below the poverty line. i was sent out to deliver some lamps to a mentally-handicapped lady across the tracks (in what is referred to as "the quarters", once called "the nigger quarters"). many of the houses there are, well, slum-quality, you could say. i dropped off the lamps and while i was there, she asked me to "take a look at my thtove". "what's it doing?", i asked as i followed her into the kitchen. it was a gas stove, with the access to the pilot light at the bottom front. "it won't light", she said. she reached out with her foot and opened the access panel. a large rat---not a mouse, a large rat---fell out onto the floor. the rat looked up at us, taking time to look us both in our faces, then casually strolled back into the stove. "it won't light", she repeated, unfazed. i went out to the truck to get my tools. when i got back, the rat wasn't there.