The night began innocently enough. I was on my laptop upstairs getting my Facebook chat on. 2 AM rolls around, and I decide I might want to go downstairs and get me some snackage. As I begin to descend the stairs, I see a giant roach on its back and freaking the fuck out. It's kicking its legs every which way, fast as a motherfucker (we all know how fast those can be), and making a surprising racket in the process. I proceed to freak the fuck out as well, and turn right back to my Facebook chat to let my dear friend Ross know of my fears. At this point I'm afraid to go downstairs, because I know the damn thing will right itself right as I get there and kill me, as roaches are wont to do.
Eventually, I gather up the courage to use the foldy-chair/stool thing in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs as a block between a possible roach attack and myself, and run around the corner and look for something to put the roach inside to use to throw him outside. I do this because he's a giant fucking roach, and I don't want to deal with roach goo on my floor.
BACKGROUND:
To give you a sense my fears, earlier I'd watched Men In Black (which also was so epic as to require a sequel), and we are all familiar with that penultimate giant roach assault scene, and how, without the aid of gigantic weapons which I lack the permit for and/or access to, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would have died horrible deaths, and that colossal roach would have been responsible for the destruction of earth and all the people therein. NOT ON MY WATCH, MISTER.
Now of course, I wasn't so scared shitless so as to forget to take pictures.
Enjoy.
400 years prior to this experience, English poet John Milton would presage the coming of this hideous creature, describing it in terms thus:
"The one seemed woman to the waist, and fair,
But ended foul in many a scaly fold,
Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed
With mortal sting. About her middle round
A cry of Hell-hounds never-ceasing barked
With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung
A hideous peal, yet, when they list, would creep
If aught disturbed their noise, into her womb
And kennel there, yet there still barked and howled
Within unseen. Far less abhorred than these
Vexed Scylla, bathing in the sea that parts
Calabria from the hoarse Trinacrian shore,
Nor uglier follow the night-hag, when, called
In secret, riding through the air she comes,
Lured with the smell of infant blood, to dance
With Lapland witches, while the labouring moon
Eclipses at their charms..." and it goes on from there.
How, you may ask, did I deal with such a vile, disgusting, unseemly horror of creation? How did I, who can neither grow a mustache nor endure the radiating green residue of kryptonite, survive this infesting demon's affront unscathed, you ask? How did I vanquish this monster foul and not be rewarded with my rightful office as King of England in return, where lesser men have merely taken sorcerous swords from crumbling stones to claim the throne, YOU ASK IN AWE AND REVERENCE???
Here, my faithful friends, is how (in pictures!!!).
To begin with, the roach was on its back and, aside from, as previously stated, freaking out and kicking everywhere so that it moved all over the damn place on its back, it was made somewhat less threatening because it was primarily concerned with getting off of its back, so it might have been slightly distracted and not have had its full attention on slaying me.
First, Buffy (a cat [PS: whom I did not name]; also, in some ancient cultures, the devil) and I discussed the course of action we should take. I throw her towards the roach.
For some reason she thought looking at the damned thing would be more interesting than killing it. What are we paying her for?
And then she BAPs. Hard. Compounded by the fact that she actually is, by definition, a pussy, this is about as solid an example as you're going to see of said BAPing.
So I have to step in. Lancelot had his lances; David has his newspaper and transparent plastic wide-mouth containers. And yeah, we're old school and have a legit cookie jar.
Now, if you know David, you know David doesn't half-ass his shit (feel free to take that literally or ironically, depending on your experiences with David). I'm not going to stop taking pictures for the people just because both my hands are going to be occupied. That's right. This job required David not only vanquishing a hellish beast, but also learning how to work the timer on his camera. AND counting to 10. And then 2. Because I needed two shots. You're welcome.
Action shot!!! That, my friends, is what your foot would look like if your eyes were too busy staring death in the face.
PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD, O COCKROACH! --Amos 4:12
I promptly ran to the door and threw him out. My dog decided that this was a good time to join the festivities. I snuck a picture of him before he ran away terrified (he has this inane fear of cameras; he can even tell the exact moment at which I turn my phone onto camera mode, and flees in terror right as I hit the button).
There he is, in all his radiant glory, celebrating my victory over the roach with gaited trot. What a guy.
"The one seemed woman to the waist, and fair,
But ended foul in many a scaly fold,
Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed
With mortal sting. About her middle round
A cry of Hell-hounds never-ceasing barked
With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung
A hideous peal, yet, when they list, would creep
If aught disturbed their noise, into her womb
And kennel there, yet there still barked and howled
Within unseen. Far less abhorred than these
Vexed Scylla, bathing in the sea that parts
Calabria from the hoarse Trinacrian shore,
Nor uglier follow the night-hag, when, called
In secret, riding through the air she comes,
Lured with the smell of infant blood, to dance
With Lapland witches, while the labouring moon
Eclipses at their charms..." and it goes on from there.
How, you may ask, did I deal with such a vile, disgusting, unseemly horror of creation? How did I, who can neither grow a mustache nor endure the radiating green residue of kryptonite, survive this infesting demon's affront unscathed, you ask? How did I vanquish this monster foul and not be rewarded with my rightful office as King of England in return, where lesser men have merely taken sorcerous swords from crumbling stones to claim the throne, YOU ASK IN AWE AND REVERENCE???
Here, my faithful friends, is how (in pictures!!!).
To begin with, the roach was on its back and, aside from, as previously stated, freaking out and kicking everywhere so that it moved all over the damn place on its back, it was made somewhat less threatening because it was primarily concerned with getting off of its back, so it might have been slightly distracted and not have had its full attention on slaying me.
First, Buffy (a cat [PS: whom I did not name]; also, in some ancient cultures, the devil) and I discussed the course of action we should take. I throw her towards the roach.
Now, if you know David, you know David doesn't half-ass his shit (feel free to take that literally or ironically, depending on your experiences with David). I'm not going to stop taking pictures for the people just because both my hands are going to be occupied. That's right. This job required David not only vanquishing a hellish beast, but also learning how to work the timer on his camera. AND counting to 10. And then 2. Because I needed two shots. You're welcome.
The tables have turned, Mr. Cockroach. How's it feel to be at my mercy, bitch?
I promptly ran to the door and threw him out. My dog decided that this was a good time to join the festivities. I snuck a picture of him before he ran away terrified (he has this inane fear of cameras; he can even tell the exact moment at which I turn my phone onto camera mode, and flees in terror right as I hit the button).

Hopefully David & the roach Part III won't be like Godfather part III.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I love you. I can't wait until we can hang out in one month!
ReplyDelete<3Tracy