Thursday, May 14, 2009

Mummy Mouse

My department at work is located in a very old building. It used to be a hospital I hear. A few years ago, a coworker that worked on another floor pointed out something weird on the top of a massive electrical box at the end of a hallway near a stairwell - a tiny mummified mouse. It must have dropped there at some point and died of either poisoning or old age. She said that older employees told her that the mouse had been there as long as they could remember. It's pretty high up and you have to tip-toe to see that it's really a mouse - whiskers and the two front teeth are clearly visible, but it looks like a ball of dust from a distance. No decay at all. Just a fury little ancient mouse resting on its side. It's one of those things I now look for when I pass that part of the building. It's actually become a comforting notion, "He's still there."

Well, they're finally painting the hallways after probably decades of needing to. When I was approaching that area today, I saw the fresh paint on the walls and nearly panicked and sprinted to the location to check on him. I just KNEW that the mouse would never have survived the painting crew. I wonder how long it's been undisturbed. No way of knowing. But the good news is that he's STILL there. With a tiny white dot of paint on his right ear, from where the workers painted AROUND him.

Incredible.

The mummy mouse will be there forever. No doubt.


In this undated photo, the mummy mouse in better days.

8 comments:

crudedoodle.com said...

TAKE A PICTURE AND POST IT!!!

Judy C said...

Totally adorable.

Bob said...

Yeah, you're gonna need to take a picture and post it.

NoahFentz said...

A quote from Heroes...

BEST BLOG EVER!!

The Captain said...

I actually called my wife over so I could read this to her :)

Yes a picture would be cool. That's nice that the painters didn't disturb its resting place. Cool story. Is that Mr. Jingles in the photo?

JHMDF said...

LOL I was scrolling down and totally thought for a split second that the picture was of the mummy mouse and it made me jump! I was like "He still has eyes!!!???!!" hehehe.

NecroBones said...

Painted around it? Awesome. :)

MorbidMariah said...

Similar story...my Aunt Patty used to live in an old Victorian in a little tiny town in Southern Indiana. And in the very front of the house, there was some neato plaster detail mouldings. And in one of those mouldings was a perfect mouse-shaped negative. Apparently, the mouse had fallen into the plaster and died. After his body decayed away, the imprint of him was there. Still was, last time I went to visit.