Anyone who knows me, knows I do not believe in killing things. So when I opened the cupboard, in my apartment, that Pamela and Richard filled with every cleaning aid known to man, and spotted an XXL can of insecticide they had bought for me I made a mental note to dispose of it as soon as I could.
Being a hiker I am not squeamish when it comes to the odd Arthropoda.
So when, a couple of nights later, while I take the last bite of my takeaway Coffee Lounge ‘Vegetable Rice’ (the only vegetarian thing I could find thus far) and continue working on my laptop, a little creature shows up I am unperturbed.
Let’s call him Charlie because everyone in Ghana is called Charlie (see Day#11). Charlie merrily runs across the table, past me and my laptop climbs into the takeaway container and starts gnawing on the polystyrene. And when I say gnawing, I don’t mean that he was gently chewing. He was gnawing so loudly that I could not work.
I chased him off and took the takeaway container to the kitchen to wash.
Only to find two other Charlies’ having a bath in the basin. A family of Charlies discussing the XXL can of insecticide in the cleaning cupboard. And two more Charlies INSIDE THE FRIDGE!
Which directly led to yesterday’s, impromptu (slightly OCD) Spring-Clean.
When we were children and our parents used to take us on holiday to Amanzimtoti, to a place called Afsaal (my father is a pastor, we had no money), my mother would spend the first day cleaning.
Which got rid of Charlie’s cousins twice removed. And removed is what I was aiming for. So I cleaned. And I cleaned. And I cleaned.
I washed crockery, cutlery, dishes, carpets, cupboards, recycling, clothes, couch covers, walls. I even found a floor cleaner that contains Insect Repellent (no Insecticide).
That night, when I went to bed, you could eat off the floor.
And they did. When I walked into the kitchen, guess who was waiting for me?
Charlie.
So now I am going to put this over here. And I want us all to reflect on what would be happening right now if Tannie Chrissie were here.
PS I am now trying prayer.
PPS Any (non-lethal) advice would be most appreciated!
