How about the one about the mouse that burned down the house?
Lest you think that that’s a line from Ogden Nash, or one of those other poets whose horrible stuff we had to memorize and regurgitate centuries ago in Catholic grade school, consider a recent news item reported by the Associated Press.
A man in New Mexico was burning leaves in his back yard.
As he worked outside, he trapped a mouse that had inadvertently entered his garage. He decided to toss the mouse into the inferno instead of shooing the creature out into the woods or smashing it over the head with a shovel which is what anybody else would do, depending on their personality type.
The squealing mouse scurried out of the fire, fur ablaze, and here’s where the story gets interesting. The mouse could have rushed back into the wild to die an agonizing death. Or it could have rolled around in the dirt and extinguished the blaze.
But no! This mouse, having been victimized by an act of indifferent maliciousness, was thinking like a human and that translated into terms of revenge.
The mouse re-entered the garage where it promptly set the entire structure on fire, burning it, and the house, to the ground in a matter of minutes.
Now imagine relating this to an insurance adjuster, shuffling his claims papers and squinting at the ever so fine print in search of the applicable passage that denies payment for damages caused by “stupid pet tricks” or “abuse of wildlife”.
So if you’re one of those people who enjoys stomping on ants or pulling the wings off butterflies, take heed.
The story has a moral. Don’t be so quick to consign a fellow living creature to a hot place. You might end up getting burned yourself. And don’t be surprised if there’s a butterfly furiously fluttering its wings to fan the flames.
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Wildwood Catholic High School hosts a special parent’s forum on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 February 8 at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium, 15th and Central Avenues, North Wildwood.
County Prosecutor Robert Taylor will participate along with county detectives and staff from Cape Counseling.
Topics related to teen safety include: internet use, drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, teen depression, and suicide.
The public is encouraged to attend this open forum.
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AARP Wildwood is taking a casino bus trip to the Sands on Tuesday, February 21. Cost is $35 per person.
Contact Ray or Betty at 522-4869.
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Cape May County PPAWS Seeing Eye puppy raiser club asked me to thank Wildwood Crest resident Edna Hewitt for donating a number of items that club puppy raisers will find useful in their volunteer work.
If you’re interested in joining this 4H club, call 465-5115 for more information.
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The soup and sandwich benefit for Wildwood Civic Club EMD is will take place from February 6-9 at Crest Tavern.
For more information, call 522-1083.
Cape May County Communities Against Tobacco meets Monday, Feb. 6 at noon at Cape Assist, 3819 New Jersey Ave.
Call 522-5960 for more information.
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Margaret Mace School kindergarten students are hard at work with crayons and paper.
The students of teachers Amanda Brojakowski and Corinne Clarke are creating art work they will send to Color a Smile, a non-profit organization based in Morristown, NJ, that, since 1986, has been mailing children’s crayon art work to senior citizens in hopes spreading cheer.
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West Wildwood Borough Commission meets Friday at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, 701 W. Glenwood Ave.
North Wildwood City Council meets Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall, 901 Atlantic Ave.
Wildwood Crest Borough Commission meets today at 9:30 a.m. at Borough Hall, 6101 Pacific Ave. Crest planners meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the same location.
Wildwood Planning Board meets Monday, February 6 at 7 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall, 4400 New Jersey Ave.
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Story time for preschool age youngsters is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at the Wildwood Crest Public Library, 6301 Ocean Ave.
Call 522-0564 for information.
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Congratulations to Margaret Mace School seventh grade student Mark Rucci. Mark will have a chance to represent the school at the state level in the 18th National Geographic Bee. If Mark continues to advance in the competitions, he may ultimately compete for the national championships on May 23-24 in Washington, DC.
Other Margaret Mace finalists include Shawn Karge and Robert Maschio (seventh grade) and Amanda Barrett, Tyler Carr, and Kaycee Chambers (eigth grade).
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City of North Wildwood has been awarded a $3000 grant from the state Council on the Arts to help pay for its upcoming 100th anniversary celebration.
The money will be used for special cultural events, including a recreation of a John Phillip Sousa concert.
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Wildwood residents interested in running for election to the school board should file their nominating petitions prior to the deadline on Monday, February 27. You can pick up the necessary paperwork at the school board office, 4300 Pacific Ave. during regular business hours.
For more information, call 522-0786.
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