(Otherwise known as “field mice”)
I think my nephew F. may some day be a multimillionaire. He’s eleven and the most entreprenurial member of my family, by far. He collects items on trash day to repair and re-sell. Once he took an instrument to the shopping center near his house and played it to collect tips. (He stood outside the Dollar General.)
Recently F. posted a question on Yahoo! Answers:
“Do you have to have a license to open a rodent business?”
Yahoo emailed me his question - we are set up as contacts - and it immediately piqued my interest. “Rodent business?” I am sure, that like the musical pan handling, this is not a plan endorsed by his mother.
Following the link, the question was elaborated upon; F. states that:
“I have a really good aim there is a nest out side my house full of rats not mice RATS, and I hit them every time from across the yard. I have a crossman co2 1088 and my aim is almost perfect. Inside I dont break anything at all and I have traps. So do you think you have to have a license to do this?”
To me, it’s pretty apparent that F. is seeing this as a money making opportunity. Rat abatement=cash in hand….
However, the savants at Yahoo Answers seem to think he wants to sell the dead rats. For example, one person’s response is:
“How is that a business? You going to sell the carcasses?”
Okay, yah, I’m sure there’s a big market for dead rats.
Another person offered this insightful advice:
“Go to a local sporting goods store and ask ‘em if you need a hunting license to hunt rats.
You WILL need a tax license to run a rat-hunting business.”
And, my favorite response, from my mom (F.’s grandmother):
“F., I think those are voles, not rats.”
Doesn’t she realize she just ruined all his rat killing street cred?
February 20th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Guess whose husband had a business breeding, raising and selling mice and rats?
February 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Oooppps…. (but in my defense, the commenter’s seemed to think he wanted to sell DEAD rats, which I think would have a smaller market than live ones)
February 20th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Sounds as lucrative as his mothers “books and coconut bras” stand.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Angie,
I’m sure you miss that business terribly. You’ve told me some stories about dark characters coming to the door at odd hours asking about animals.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:57 am
omg.. good work, brother
June 25th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
[...] written about my nephew F. before. He’s twelve, going into 7th grade, and the second child of my younger sister, M. He [...]