Jeff has the executive summary of this story; read on for my long-winded version.
It was a foggy day, but certainly most days in Daly City are foggy and a hint ominous. Jeff was throwing a housewarming party, and in the name of good impressions and high partying standards we dropped by Costco to pick up much-needed culinary provisions (i.e., food). As Jeff was backing out of the garage, I noticed a little ball on the ground in the driveway, curled up and somewhat chilly.
Giving him a tap of my foot, I expected the mouse to get the message and run home. He was very tiny, and I didn’t want to accidentally crush his long tail with my foot nor allow 3000 lbs. of Scion the same opportunity. Contrary to expectations, however, the little guy didn’t budge, and a few more pushes ensured he was out of the blind vehicle’s rampaging path. He remained hunched low to the ground and his lowered eyes betrayed none of his intentions.
“Look, a little rat.”
“What? Oh, that’s so cute. Take a picture?”
“Yea, I’m not sure what happened; I had to push him out of the way and he doesn’t seem to want to move.”
“I wonder if he’s injured.”
Yet off we went; Costco closed early, and I didn’t want to have to fight the weekend crowds. Just as we turned the corner, I noticed a UPS truck approach the other way…oh, it’s that damned XBox 360 return box; “Mr. Thung” (great listening skills, outsourced Asian customer support) needed to fix his console’s issues and despite specifically asking for a return box to be sent to a work address, Microsoft felt sending another box wouldn’t hurt. Well, maybe it’s not for me, and even if it was, I didn’t need the extra box anyway. Along the trip we speculated upon the fate of our little Jeffy (not to be confused with Scion-driving Jeff).
At some point we decided Costco’s bulk items were excessive and Safeway would provide more reasonable portions, but Jeff wanted to first rendezvous with Jeffy on the driveway. We joked about a few worst-case scenarios en route, but we really just expected him to be gone, looking for food elsewhere. Sadly, among the bushes, where the UPS guy might have walked around in search of a safe deposit for an empty and unnecessary box, were a pair of eyes looking up in the sky … lifeless …
By the next day the bushes were clear, nothing remained.
Save the above picture.
And the impression, however temporary it may be, on two guys just going about their daily routine.