News Taffy

I am always thinking about and noticing the dramatic differences between life in Arkansas and life in Manhattan. The obvious difference is the number of people in Manhattan vs. Jonesboro. Then there are other things like the absence green spaces and front yards in Manhattan. For me, it is the smaller things that seem to stand out more than the larger ones. On a recent trip back to Jonesboro, I was once again reminded of how different the two worlds really are!

As I stepped out of my car (another thing I don’t have in NYC) and into the garage, I noticed something by the back door of the house (I only have a front door in NYC). Upon closer inspection, I came to a screeching halt! My ever so trusty Terminix sticky bug trap had a visitor! A snake!!! It was small, green and totally harmless. Doesn’t really matter in my opinion though as I am terrified of snakes in any shape, form or fashion. The one exception would be snake skin stilettos. Those I can live with.

Being that the snake was stuck in the trap, I knew it was going to die a slow death by the backdoor in the garage. After 24 hours, I got up the nerve to sweep the trap with the snake attached out of the garage and left him to wither away in the grass. I’ve been told by trusty sources that the trap is still in the grass, but the snake is nowhere to be found.

I would almost guarantee that I will never see a snake outside my front door in Manhattan. The main reason being, I live on the 26th floor of a building. Unless a neighbor loses a pet snake and it makes its way to my floor, I think I’m safe from the slithering menaces. I’m also not surrounded by 30 acres of critter filled woods anymore. I remain a little creeped out from having lived “in the woods” anyway. I grew up on the prairie on Central Arkansas and prefer to look out and see for miles. Now I can look out and see lots of buildings and people. So I’m more likely to find a rat outside the door! A rat I can deal with.

But I never expected to see a larger than life rat when we moved here. It wasn’t long after we arrived in NYC, that I saw a gigantic inflatable, beady eyed rat standing outside an apartment building. I was baffled at first as to why there was a HUGE rat on the sidewalk. Was it a test run for a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon? Or a practical joke? No. This rat is what shows up outside a building that doesn’t use UNION labor for anything from construction workers to doormen and concierge. Unions are obviously a big deal in this city. Pissing them off is obviously a bigger deal. It has been said the unions are the modern day mafia in this city.

I would have to say I’d much prefer a brigade of inflatable rats to even the tiniest of snakes. And with the absence of winter in both Arkansas and Manhattan, we are all likely to see more snakes and rats in both locations. Thanks to Facebook, I know that cotton mouths and copper heads are already slithering around down south. As for the rats, well they are a constant during all four seasons in Manhattan.

For more on D.J.’s adventures in the Big Apple check out her blog at www.djduckworthyoga.com/blog Follow her on twitter @mrsdjduckworth and on Facebook at D.J. Cunningham Duckworth. She is also a contributor to www.themoms.com