I Hate Mice
At the risk of losing my “man card” once again, I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of mice. For the life of me I can’t figure out why so many of us seem to be terrified of a little creature we could kill with two fingers, but the fear seems to be pretty wide spread. Nothing makes me freak out, run, and scream like a little girl like a mouse on the loose.
For the past couple weeks we’ve had quite the problem with these little creatures in the Cross Point Nashville office complex. There have been numerous reports of mice scurrying around.
After the first Sunday service each week I meet with several members of the programming team and a few staff in my office to review the service and see if there are any adjustments that need to be made to the additional services at any of the three campuses. During the middle of the meeting this past Sunday a mouse literally ran under my chair and then darted through Dave Senes’s legs before going under my closet door for refuge.
That’s one brave mouse.
For your entertainment here’s a quick video taken on THIS GUY’S iPhone right after the traumatic event.
What creature in the animal kingdom are you most afraid of?
65 Comments:
Mice! But here’s the weird thing. If I’m outside,the woods, or even my back yard, they don’t bother me, at all.
Sarah´s last blog ..True Story Tuesday
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I’m with you Sarah. They don’t bother me in the outdoors. It’s when they violate me in my OWN space that I freak out.
[Reply]
Sarah Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Pete, I think it’s the fact that they could have been in my food and all that that creeps me out. The same reason I don’t like cats on tables and stuff. Don’t touch my food, be around my food, try eating my food…
Sarah´s last blog ..True Story Tuesday
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bondChristian Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
“Violate”… great word for the occasion! :>) I got a chuckle out of that one.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
bondChristian´s last blog ..Why serve others
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Sarah
7:22 am
Oh…mice and snakes! YUCK!
Alison´s last blog ..Oh Christmas Tree
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Alison
7:32 am
Since living in the Asian tropics it has been mosquitoes that have been freaking me out. Back home they are painful but in almost all cases harmless. here they can carry a number of diseases that can kill you in a rather unpleasant manner.
[Reply]
Joanna
7:38 am
Just a little church mouse…. thanks for the chuckle this morning.
Taking Heart´s last blog ..Judge Not
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Taking Heart
8:03 am
Not the biggest fan of birds in the home or bats in the home – outside no problem but inside …… NOT SO MUCH!
Jim F.´s last blog ..The Boomerang
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Jim F.
8:04 am
LOL–never take a sip of coffee and watch a Pete video, it’s not good to spray all that coffee over the screen when lol.
Just gotta retweet this one, heh, heh…
[Reply]
Tina Dee
8:26 am
I had chickens and my hen houses were infested with rats one year. One of them ran up my back… scared the sh*t out of me…
Anyway, to answer your question… here’s my list…
Rats
Snakes
Hairy spiders
Scorpions
Raccoons
Skunks
Wolverines
Polar bears
Mean geese
Chickens that chase you
Lions and other felines that growl
Hippos (they are very mean!)
Most reptiles that slither OR crawl (and are longer than a ruler)
And Doug Hanna. You know, I’ve heard that he has a stinger…
[Reply]
mpt
8:29 am
MICE!! There was a family of them in a hay bail outside my chiropractors office last month. They kept running in front of the door – on the outside – and I still screamed – I fought the urge to stand on a chair…and they were on the other side of the glass!!!! I almost didn’t leave the building. They didn’t have a back door…I asked!
I hate them…hate, hate, hate.
Laretha´s last blog ..Raising a Special Needs Child
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Laretha
8:33 am
We live in the country, and the thing that always gets them is those old school traps (without the safety on them) and TWIX candybars. I mean, who can resist twix?!
Good story – my sis-in-law was eating popcorn a few weeks ago and when she looked over, there was a mouse, perched up on the edge of the bowl eating her popcorn. No lie!! (which disputes my theory that mice won’t come around when they hear me yelling “I’m coming down here, you better run!!!!” in my basement.)
kristy´s last blog ..Lovely day
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 8:46 am
That is WRONG!
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kristy
8:38 am
Of mice and “men” . . . I’m rolling on the floor laughing at you guys! Such brave warriors you are!
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Diane Moody
8:40 am
I hate spiders! I got bit by one a few years back and went to the dr for it.
Dr. “Oh it probably wasn’t a spider, everybody thinks it is a spider.”
I told him that it crawled into my shirt and I felt something crawling and then I slapped my chest to crush him. The spider then bit me before he died. I saw the spider!!
Dr: “Oh!?”
I felt pretty sick for a few days.
David Knapp´s last blog ..Worst ReGift Present Ever
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David Knapp
8:42 am
Bees (spelling doesn’t look quite right…hmmm)
I am scared to death of them…I was traumatized as a child by them and to this day I dislike them.
Not fond of snakes either but they don’t scare me as much as bees.
S.
[Reply]
EmSweeney Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 10:38 am
HAHAHA, nice quote from The Replacements!
[Reply]
Susie A.
8:56 am
I was having a conversation with my 5 yr old last night and he said he was scared of lions and bears. So I told him that God was with us and we really don’t live anywhere near lions and bears so we were pretty safe. Then he said, ‘well, when Jesus comes back everything will go back to normal.’
LOL, but you know, he’s right, the way God intended it to be. We won’t be frightened of the lions, bears or mice! In God’s Love, sheila
sheila harris´s last blog ..Political or Not
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sheila harris
8:56 am
I give you permission Pete to put your man card aside in this instance. There is no shame!!!! I am no fan of mice myself, haha!!!!!!
Lauren Kelly´s last blog ..The graduates and a look into the future!!
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Lauren Kelly
8:59 am
I can’t tell you how grateful I was to see you on that chair, Pete. I was up on the chair myself back in the day when Dee and I owned our audio production studio we were working on a project together late at night. That little critter scurried under my chair and I freaked. Dee? Nope, she calmly cornered it with an aerosole can of something and gassed him. All the while, I’m still standing on my chair. What is the deal with mice and men?
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Mile in Milwaukee
9:06 am
Snakes. *shudder*
Abby´s last blog ..E*NP*M
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Abby
9:06 am
I am scared of mice too!!
When I worked at summer camp, I remember my first summer after cabin assignments were made for staff. We moved to our new cabins and I was setting up my stuff. A returning staff member said to me, “Oh! I had that bed last summer!” and as we chatted she said, “Yeah, the worst part is hearing the mice scratching in the walls…” I said, “excuse me?” and she said, “Oh, yeah! Happens all the time. Of course, every summer there is a mice or two that run across someones face while they’re sleeping.” Needless to say I switched beds with the girl who had the top bunk. I know they can climb, but I felt somewhat safer.
I’ll save the story about the giant mouse nest for another time. : )
Kelley´s last blog ..
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Kelley
9:12 am
Pete, two days in a row? In Back to the Future style, the letters on your man card are starting to disappear…
Women scare me. There. I said it. A wife, three daughters and a girl dog. That’s my life. Eeek.
[Reply]
woody
9:25 am
I’m deathly afraid of crabs. No, not the STD, the actual things that have pinchers and a bunch of legs.
@Mile in Milwaulkee- nice pun, I like that.
Nigel´s last blog ..Ezra Klein on Joe Lieberman
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Nigel
10:09 am
You will receive NO CONDEMNATION from me. Because if I had been in that office during the mousecapade, I would’ve THROWN AN ELBOW to get you off that chair and me on it.
Not even gonna lie.
Robyn (3girlsmom)´s last blog ..Hold the Phone – A Miracle Has Occurred.
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Robyn (3girlsmom)
10:22 am
I’m nnot particularly fond of mice, but I really don’t like snakes. And spiders rank up there too. And bugs in general.
Shelley´s last blog ..A Little Update
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Shelley
10:29 am
So THAT’S what took you guys so long???
Mice don’t bother me one bit – probably because one of my sisters had them as pets when we were kids.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 10:37 am
You’re very lucky you weren’t back there with us. It got ugly!
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Paula
10:31 am
Mice get me too. Once upon a time, I opened a drawer to see about a dozen or so of the little critters crawling all over my jammies.
Faye´s last blog ..Got my God-goggles on
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Faye
10:34 am
There are two that I do not like. The first one is snakes. My cousin Steve used to chase around with snakes in a pillow case when we were kids. The other one is a bug that you can call it by it’s name that starts with the letter c or with the letter r. (On The Cosby Show this was the nickname of Theo’s friend). Ewww. I scream like the girl that I am proud to be whenever I see one and vow on my wedding day in my husband’s vows he will vow to kill those for me. I will not live in Florida because of these.
I did forget one more – spiders. Not fond of them and when they had the arachnophobia exhibit at the Fort Worth Zoo I went quickly through without even looking too much lol
Kathi Waddle´s last blog ..Open Arms
[Reply]
Kathi Waddle
10:34 am
Yep, I hate mice too. Even dead ones- it takes me a while to get the courage to go and throw the trap away. Ugh- I hate it so much.
jasonS´s last blog ..Church is not…
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devbeth Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Um, Jason, mouse traps can be used more than once. Tongs – get some long handled BBQ tongs, leather gloves – you’ll be ok.
[Reply]
jasonS
10:36 am
So… if you see a mouse, Pete, do you squeal, or… do you squeak? =o)
Hmmm…. Not sure what I’m afraid of. I’ve never seen a scorpion in real life, but I don’t imagine it would be a pleasant encounter… so perhaps that would be mine?
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JD in Canada
10:37 am
Yeah, mice freak me out…but squirrels are worse! Especially on a college campus where they are not afraid of you whatsoever…they’re like mice with big tails!
Megan´s last blog ..“Little Wood Guitar”
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Megan
10:37 am
My 1st visit to the great Pete Wilson’s blog & this is what I get? Screamed like a girl?! I only follow the fun blogs, you know. And those that also carry a message. I like the serious, too.
I grew up on a farm, so a lot doesn’t scare me. But, I think like many other commenters, it’s when they invade MY space it’s creepy. Mice, spiders, snakes, most woodland creatures. And jungle creatures. Don’t they know the rules of eminent domain?
[Reply]
Shellie (baylormum)
10:39 am
Please believe me when I tell you that if I see a snake, there will be a Kyle shaped hole in the nearest wall. Just thinking about them freaks me out!
[Reply]
Kyle
10:39 am
I do not mind mice but roaches scare me to death and honestly they chase me
SO I feel your pain
My husband did not believe me until last year when a roach the size of a small cat ran through our kitchen and right over to me
I knocked the table over trying to climb on top of it I was so scared
[Reply]
Kim
10:39 am
Oh yeah and should I move to Nashville next year ummm don’t be one of the people helping me unload my stuff as I have 3 gerbils, a hamster and 2 rats. They are all caged and harmless – except there were two escapes a couple of weeks apart lol My cat Ella was helping me round up my gerbil. Maybe Cross Point could get a cat. Ask Allan for one lol He has three of them now.
Kathi Waddle´s last blog ..Open Arms
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Kathi Waddle
10:39 am
We had a mouse infestation in the house we lived in when we first got married. Long story about the cause and resolution but I’ll share one little story. I was typing a paper on the computer when 4 mice started running back and forth across the desk. I actually thumped one off the back of the desk and it climbed up the wires and chittered at me. Of course that just made me angry and resulted in the end of the infestation.
[Reply]
Nick the Geek
10:41 am
Not a big fan of mice but I can deal with them. However, spiders MUST DIE. And don’t get me started on snakes.
[Reply]
Scott
10:41 am
First, we have Wes losing his man card because he bought ballet tickets. Now you lose yours over a mouse. No wonder Blake is so over the top macho! He has to compensate for everyone!
I wasn’t scared of animals until a stingray offed Steve Irwin. Now, they at least will draw my attention.
Jason´s last blog ..Mission Bellevue Ridge Fire Update Dec 15 11:00am
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Jason
10:54 am
Big, old (or young) hairy spiders. Even if they are outside. There was one in my garden this summer – it was as big as a Buick. I didn’t get too close, but it had to have had portholes – it was HUGE!
[Reply]
devbeth
10:54 am
Dude. Our homeless shelter and drug/alcohol rehab share the same kitchen, in a building that was built in like the 40’s.
It is not uncommon for bats to fly out of the ceiling….or rats to come sneaking in. About 3 weeks ago, one of my men killed a rat that was about a foot and half long…..
I know it’s wrong, but I would pay money to see that thing run through your office!!
Aaron Reddin´s last blog ..How to Avoid the MAJOR Screw Ups
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Aaron Reddin
11:06 am
Pete…
You need a church cat!
Go to the pet shelter and adopt a cute little kitty and let it become a member of your flock!
God Bless… I have a wonderful cat her name is Angel and she is the best mouser!!!
I live in MN and when it gets gold in the fall the mice think that they should seek shelter in my home…My home has a back yard that has lots of open farm field next to my yard.
But really… go get a church cat and you wont have any more …Mice!!
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:17 am
A Church cat? Not as long as I”m pastor.
[Reply]
Kathi Waddle Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
How about a church rat terrier? Those dogs supposedly hunt down rats and mice.
Kathi Waddle´s last blog ..Open Arms
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dana Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I have one and I am sure she would do this, but they’re so high maintenance no one would ever get any work done!
Janice Kay
11:11 am
dude i can’t stand spiders, mice or rats. snakes bug me too, but I have always said my man card went out the window when I first say my 2 year old daughter born. All masculinity left me life after that happened. Then we had twins girls after that, I feel like I have to kill something once a week or I’ll have to audtion for the Style Network.
Oh and I only say this because it was said by a member of our congregation when I took a similar one, but, your man card isn’t really holding up too well with that current profile pic! lol I say that because it’s true of myself probably moreso.
Matt Hafer´s last blog ..Don’t think you have won just yet..
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Matt Hafer
11:14 am
Absolutely has to be spiders. Live ones, dead ones, smashed ones, I don’t care. I hate them!!!
[Reply]
Teresa
11:20 am
snakes. or sharks.
Amanda´s last blog ..collaboration…
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Amanda
11:27 am
Guess you might have a problem being a guest speaker at our church! The mice sometimes run all over the stage. We meet in a huge tent on 66 acres.
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Pokinatcha Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Oops forgot …. I have a fear of Tiger sharks!
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Pokinatcha
11:30 am
Oh…where to begin? I’ve personally vouched for you on several occassions to the MCC (Man Card Committee), and had you just admitted to your fear of mice, I might have been able to come to your defense once again. But the video? Sweet Fancy Moses, Pete! What am I going to do with you?
katdish´s last blog ..The Dos and Don’ts of Church Planting (Repost)
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katdish
11:36 am
holy cow, when y’all started freaking out again, i laughed so suddenly that i startled my boss!! great video, thanks for sharing
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krista
11:38 am
I am deathly afraid of snakes. I think it goes back to the fall (the whole Eve and the serpent thing!)…Now, my hubby is afraid of spiders- so I do the squashing in my house!
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rhonda
11:48 am
“What creature in the animal kingdom are you most afraid of?” I don’t know Pete, but it’s not a mouse. I swear, you and @weshoward are throwing out your man cards like they’re going out of style.
For your sake, I hope you don’t have many pranksters on your staff, because I would be all over this.
[Reply]
Nathan
11:54 am
Not a fan of mice. I am okay with spiders and bugs, but I have rodents. Yes. Those big mice really do me in bad… (I don’t like to actually say or type r-a-t-s)
[Reply]
Helen
1:00 pm
I would make a terrible Buddhist, because I only respect all life if it stays OUTSIDE my house. People are welcome, as long as they are nice, but bugs, mice, birds, and bees need to stay where they belong! We’ve lived in this house 10 years now, and only last year did the first mouse get in. We caught about 10 before we had gotten rid of them all. Can’t figure out how they’re gaining access, so it could happen again at any time, I guess. Ugh.
Jan C.´s last blog ..Holiday Album–December 3
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Jan C.
1:55 pm
Snakes, snakes and snakes! I think I took the serpent in the garden story a bit too seriously as a wee child and haven’t been able to cope with snakes since. Then there was a boa constrictor in my 12th grade biology classroom right next to the double desk I was assigned to. I begged the teacher to move my seat (we were seated alphabetically) because I could not spend the year next to Sid (as in Vicious). Praise God he relented. And you’ll love this, the teacher was feeding Sid his meal o’ mice one afternoon and one of them bit the boa’s mouth on the way down the hatch. Sid’s “lip” got all infected and had to be sent to a world renowned herpetologist (fortunately he was at the local university) for some sort of snake surgery.
Falalalaaaa!
Christine´s last blog ..How Christmas and Christmas Decorations Really Have Nothing to Do With Each Other
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Christine
1:59 pm
I am terrified of the komodo dragon. Not that I’ve ever seen one in real life or live anywhere near their natural habitat. But still, those things are crazy scary!
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect´s last blog ..No more robbing Peter to play Santa
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Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect
2:02 pm
Did you read the part in Pastor Rizzo’s book about all of the mice (may have even been rats) in the warehouse they started in. I don’t like mice (once jumped on top of our kitchen counter in one leap when one got in the house. My kids said they didn’t even know I could move that fast), but just thinking about a infestation of them would send me over the edge. Marc found a dead rat outside of WABC one Sunday morning. He made sure someone got rid of it before Nicki and I got there. I don’t know that you could have ever got me to step through that door again if I had seen it.
DisneyCyndi´s last blog ..Sunday Mind Dump (through the eyes of the wife).
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DisneyCyndi
2:20 pm
Anything that gets in the food.
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Bill Renfrew
2:28 pm
I think my least favorite… okay, I’ll say hate house centipedes. I remember one getting roaming around my sister’s room when I was younger. It ran into a pile of her dolls on the floor. Of course, I was recruited to root through all the dolls to get it out.
Yeah, I don’t like those guys.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
P. S. Here’s a picture of a house centipede: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/node/107
bondChristian´s last blog ..Why serve others
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bondChristian
2:30 pm
I can’t think of an animal that makes me go heebie jeebie.. unless it’s a snake in the water and I am snorkeling 2 feet above it with my belly exposed for striking (almost drowned in 2 feet of water that day).
I had a friend that was afraid of birds. I about cried my eyes out from laughing so hard when he ran screaming from a cider kitchen because a Swallow landed in the rafters.
Tony York´s last blog ..Movie Scenes That Stick With You
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I would pay good money to see that video!
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Tony York
2:50 pm
thanks for that laugh…give me a mouse any day…just don’t come close to me with a spider!!!
[Reply]
Laura Morris
5:01 pm
I absolutely despise scorpions & tarantulas (most spiders in general really).
Another thing that I don’t like but I am not afraid of are mosquitoes. I am still trying to figure out what God was thinking when he created them. I’m sure I’ll find out they were just designed to test my true character or that they were a really just a joke.
dave´s last blog ..what matters now
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dave
5:31 pm
Dude, that is the last straw! You have used the phrase “at the risk of losing my man card” one too many times! I am officially revoking your man card. You may re-apply for a new man card after a period of no less than 24 months, but only after completing a manly 12 step program and renouncing your non-manly ways.
[Reply]
jim
7:12 pm
Not a big fan of bugs with many legs…centipedes, milipedes, cockroaches, spiders…all creep me out. Also a little freaked out by sharks.
On a side note: My husband works for a major university/school of medicine that does research on a number of different kinds of animals including mice and rats. They have a gigantic room with cages of mice wall to wall, ceiling to floor. He says that some of the rats that are loose {maybe a few got escaped?} are as big as cats. Nice.
Next time you are in Maryland we’ll have to take you for a tour
jessica´s last blog ..InGratitude
[Reply]
jessica Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
*{got escaped}…I have no clue what that means. I’m going to blame that one on mom brains or lack there of.
jessica´s last blog ..InGratitude
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jessica
7:42 pm
The video is hilarious!! With the mice and the fact you love the proposal, Pete I am not sure how much of the man card you still have. Just kidding!
And I can totally relate, just this weekend I saw TWO of these critters at the house I nanny for. There house is currently un-construction so there are a lot of open areas for these little guys to come in .. As I was sitting on the couch I saw one scurry across the floor, and then as I was putting clothes away another one came out from under the bed!! SOO thankful my last day is Friday! Ha.
Krislyn´s last blog ..i wish i could sing.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I realize I’m riding a very fine line concerning my man card. However, if every dude that is scared of mice has to lose their card, there will be few left.
[Reply]
Krislyn
9:47 pm
I am afraid of so many, but mice, rats, snakes, and I can’t believe no one said possums!, are up there. But the worst for me is any type of insect. They make me feel physically sick. I scream and scare Ken to death, who calmly removes them. Glad he isn’t a squeamish one!
[Reply]
dana
11:17 pm
Pete that was a good video. I would have been standing on the closest chair. I would definitely have to say mice and snakes.
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Amy
2:03 am
I HATE mice and snakes. They are the few of God’s creatures that make me jump, scream and run in the opposite direction and not come back. I am getting the shivers right now just thinking about it.
[Reply]
Sarah
2:10 am
Snakes steal my man card, Pete. So of course we move down to Florida to start a church after spending 16 years in the Northeast. For 16 years no snakes and in the past 3 months, I’ve seen six and had to kill one. Eeeeeeeek!!!
[Reply]
nathan jeter
7:29 am
Snakes and my #1 fear, followed by snake lizards, a very close #2. As a child, I was traumatized by a snake lizard that bit my finger (they have no teeth). Mice and rats (I put them in the same category) are #3 that I fear the most. Why? I have no idea, except that they smell and they are sneaky…
[Reply]
Vicki
11:26 am
We have a Black Widow infestation at our house. So for me it is spiders. Everything that is black and is crawling on the ground freaks me out.
Bill Foote´s last blog ..Struggling with Pornography – Part 2
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Bill Foote
5:15 pm
Dude, I’m so behind on blogs, but I SO relate to this one!!! Growing up on a farm, in an OLD farmhouse, we had mice. Even in the walls… there is no worse sound in the world that a mouse scratching in the wall. *shudder*
My dad always told me the mice are more afraid of us than we are of them, but he could never explain to me why, if that’s true, they RUN RIGHT AT A PERSON.
Knowing mice live there, I’m a little less sad about never getting to visit Cross Point.
gitz´s last blog ..Brought to You by the Letter K
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gitz
11:20 pm