Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Mouse

The mouse has likely been with us for 15K years.  6000 years ago, the PIE word for the creature is reconstructed as mus. So it is also one of our oldest stable words.  Makes sense.

6 comments:

  1. For some reason I'm reminded of _Ben and Me_, in particular the scene where the mice suddenly swarm out to attack the palace mice.

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  2. I loved that book and read it out loud to our son. AVI's wife

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  3. I've had a bad day. OK, week. Perhaps month(s). I've started drinking before 5 and therefore am musing on the similarity of the letters, the possible close relationship between "muse" and "mouse". (Forget pronunciations and origins...)

    During dreary winter evenings years ago, I sat in the den where the microwave and TV were both visible without turning my head. The microwave was more interesting because Charlie lived under it. He'd peer out from underneath the appliance and stare at me as I stared back at him.

    Sometimes my daughter would join me and she'd ask questions like "Are we his entertainment? What does he think about us?" "What does he do during the daytime -- does he have a job? A family to support?" She's always asked lots of questions.

    As time passed, I began to ask myself questions. What if we should have named the mouse Charlotte? What were the implications of Charlotte having a family underneath our microwave? Would the babies be harmed every time I rewarmed a cup of coffee?

    I got a cat.





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