Rat in the kitchen…

…is a reggae song by UB40 that came out in 1986 that didn’t make much noise in the U.S. at the time but reached number 12 on the UK charts in 1987 and a song that I used to play on the radio at an alternative rock station back in the day. It came to mind when I read a story about the San Francisco Dungeon, a tourist attraction in the Bay area where actors re-enact events from the regions history, hosting the Rat Café on July 1st and 7th serving coffee and pastries to patrons while rats scurry around. These aren’t standard city rats, but domestic pets up for adoption from a Bay Area rat rescue group called Rattie Ratz. For the low low price of 49.00 a ticket you get 15 minutes to hang out with the “ambassador rats” that reportedly are social, clean, highly intelligent and trainable. A spokesman from the Dungeon said they wanted to offer a frighteningly funny encounter with creepy-crawly critters while you’re drinking coffee and said while it’s not for the faint of heart they are following all food code and hygiene requirements. That’s nice but hanging out with Ben’s distant relatives is not for me. I even made my wife take back little white mice she bought for the kid’s at the pet store back in the day. Back when I was playing “there’s a rat in the kitchen what am I gonna do…there’s a rat in the kitchen what am I gonna do…I’m gonna fix that rat that’s what I’m gonna do…I’m gonna fix that rat.