Crumpled Home

Roachy was looking very feeble that morning; on his back, legs stuck in the air, barely moving at all. RJ spent some time finding the right kind of tree bark “medicine” and carefully placing it next to Roachy. The rest of us had pretty much given up hope. Roachy was well on his way to becoming an ex-cockroach.

The next morning over breakfast, we held our breath as RJ carefully looked into the box.  To our dismay surprise, we found Roachy happily perched on his piece of bark, antennae waving jauntily in greeting.

“He’s all better! He’ll need some food!” cried RJ.

After a healthy breakfast of lettuce, tomato and mushroom, Roachy was looking terrific. RJ declared him healed and we sent the two of them off together to school.

The teachers must be getting really, really sick of our ‘pets’.

Today we learn that roaches are TOUGH... After the apocalypse the only things that will survive... Cochroaches... Twinkies... and the remains of things held together with duct tape.

(RJ has adopted a cockroach that he found outside. It was suspiciously easy to catch… This morning, over breakfast…)

RJ: I don’t think Roachy is sleeping. He just falls over a lot.

LR: He hasn’t fallen over. He’s dead.

RJ: No! He’s moving! See?

LR: I don’t think he’s feeling very good. Cockroaches aren’t meant to do that.

Dad: Hey guys… Yesterday, when I was spraying the outdoor area for redbacks, he might have gotten some of the spider poison on him. I don’t think it’s very good for cockroaches either.

RJ: (nearly in tears) BUT YOU SHOULDN’T DO THAT! YOU SHOULD JUST SPRAY THE SPIDERS.

LR: He’s dying. He’s going to die RJ. We should let him go.

RJ: No! We can’t do that. Roachy can’t walk very well. Something might eat him.

Dad: We can’t keep him, RJ. He’s like all our wild animal pets, we have to let them go after a while. They just aren’t happy inside.

LR: What if we put him in the front yard?

RJ: No. He can’t hide. See? His legs don’t work properly. It wont be safe for him.

Dad: Can we put some mulch or something in the box with him? He’ll be happier then.

RJ: Yes! We CAN do that. And then we can make him some medicine, so he’ll get better.