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I had this short piece on my computer, and decided to publish it. The weather (hot), the wine (chilled). the day (long) all contributed to my decision.
Also I was just edged out of first place in the August WEP by this cat person named Hatt (rhymes with cat), so I thought I’d better ramp up my cat game a bit. Congrats to him and to Hilary as well. Applause to you both.
Thanks to Denise and Yolanda for the fun and the great themes.
Some of you know that I once lived in Vientiane, Laos. The stories I have tucked away from that experience fill a file drawer, and I don’t expect to ever be able to set all of them down. But here’s one that I thought might be fun.
Our kitchen and wash room were separate from the main house. Very sensible because of the heat. Alongside these rooms was an extra sleeping room, and I had a girl who lived there with her family. She worked for me, and over time, we became good friends. She taught me some Lao and I taught her some English. With only a few words, we created some interesting pidgin sentences, so we understood each other. I have lots of stories about when we didn’t!
Late one night–her husband gone, my husband gone–a terrible sound came from the washroom. I grabbed the kitchen broom and was outside in a shot. I was sure we were in grave danger. Nong met me, carrying a garden rake. You can see why we got along. We both liked to be armed and ready.
Holding our weapons out, we advanced on the wash room, but it was empty, except for the washing machine and some boxes. We waited, listening, but there was only silence. We no sooner backed out than that same sound froze us to the spot. Imagine a dinosaur trapped inside an 8 by 8 cement room and you’ve imagined what we heard coming from those dark recesses. Once we’d girded our loins, we advance shoulder to shoulder and banged on the side of the washing machine.
That’s when the dinosaur sprang. Two feet long. Very prehistoric. Quite cranky because of all of our whacking. The iguana came at us. Drop weapons. Run for life. Wedge selves in doorway. Scream. Un-wedge and head for the house.
I think the iguana decided he didn’t care much for the chase and took off into the jungle where he could get a good night’s sleep. It took a week before Nong or I had the courage to go into the washroom, and that happened only after one of our husbands checked behind the washing machine.
Congrats on the book.
I totally laughed at your story, but I would probably have been screaming along side you if there.
Congrats on your latest story- the cover looks great!
What an entertaining iguana story! You told it so well that it was easy to picture it all. I have never seen an iguana in the wild- but I can imagine the noise and how startling it was to have him jump out. 🙂
~Jess
Oh, wow! I don't blame you for needing so long to go back into the washroom; I'm not sure I would've had the courage to check the noise out in the first place!
Great story! And I love the quote at the end. 🙂
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
Fear masquerading as fear, Alexa. Glad you enjoyed the quote.
Whoa, I think I'll settle for dealing with house spiders for now;) Glad you published another piece too:)
Hi Mark,
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop in. Hope all is well in your publishing world.
Very good and very well-told. I enjoyed that bit. Thank you!
I find iguanas interesting. Thanks for sharing this!
http://www.ficklemillennial.com
Hi Lee – thanks for the shout out.
Oh gosh I can imagine you'd have some stories to tell from those days. Having an iguana jump out of the washing machine would have surprised me … crumbs – how funny – well not … but yet yes.
Love the 'girded your loins' … such a good turn of phrase … fun story … cheers Hilary
I like to throw that phrase in whenever possible. It has such visual impact. 🙂
Lol. I liked the "dropped weapons and run" comment. Seems very feminine! So like me, lol.
At least you faced your fear and discovered what it was before running away.
I'm pretty brave until after the sun goes down. 🙂
Love this memory!
Congratulations! Loved your iguana story. I would have done the same thing.
Glad you're with me on the idea of escape.
That's a fantastic story. I probably would have reacted the same way. 🙂
That old fight or flight kicked in and fight was not a choice. 🙂
Loved it. Well told. I was right with ya in that washing room. You made me laugh out loud. Lovely memory. You are inspiring.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
I can take myself back to that night in an instant. I remember more details of that than I do my wedding, and that was pretty special. Don't tell my husband.
Its sort of not so funny right at this moment for me as I'm all alone in a huge house and there are some weird sounds coming from closed off bedrooms 🙂
Hmmmm. Could it be the ghost of the great iguana?
Oh my…you made me laugh and I really needed this today. My mom was in the hospital briefly today but all is ok and she is back at her home. I couldn't be with her today because I am not well and can't talk. Reading about you both running away with the perplexed iguana looking at the two of you as if you just fell off the turnip truck made me laugh. It reminded me when I found a big snake under the garden tarp and I thought I would be grave and try and move it with the rake. When it struck out, I ran like a little girl back into the house
Now you see if that iguana had been a snake I would have gone through the concrete walls. If something has legs, I'm more or less able to cope (unless is dark), but with snakes it's "out of my way!!! I'm leaving."
Hey Lee,
I'm commenting before a certain famous dog takes over. I know she might say something sarcastic in regards to cats and we can't let that happen.
You do realise that iguanas are our friends. I got fond of one particular iguana in Cancun, Mexico but hey, I'll leave it at that.
Hearty concats, um, congrats to you and of course, Pat in the Hatt and his crazy cat!
Oh, before I forget, I'm still your starstuckest fan, as paw, um as per usual.
Gary, Gary, nary contrary….
Hope Penny allows you some room to express your creativity. She's a powerhouse of a pup. Glad to see you out and about. Always great to read your supportive comments.
Great story! I love animals, so I probably would have ran after it, trying to get a photo. 🙂
Love that you wrote a kitty story. Can't wait to read it.
It's rather short, but I sometimes like to write and read short. Great way to pass the time while standing in a line. 🙂
Great story. You could totally turn some of these into a book of vignettes or some such. Sounds like a great experience.
I have them stored just in case. Thanks, Liz.
OMG, your iguana story is hilarious.
And many congrats to both you and Pat! 🙂
Humorous in the telling. Not so much, as I recall, that night. Thanks, Sandra! Loved your post today about the wombat. Adorable creature.
Those iguanas mean business and sure sent a clear message. I wonder is he the beginning for more troops on the way, lol
Possibly.
You write the best stories, Lee. This one had me scared and then laughing. Perfect response to a story. Thanks for making me smile today.
Hi Beverly. Thanks for reading, being a bit scared and then getting a good laugh. Perfect.
I am always, but always, more than ready to read a story by you.
And am smiling at the courage that the iguana forced upon you, and stole from you.
Thanks, Sue. You nailed it. One minute I was fearless and armed with my broom, and the next I was pounding my way out of there.
I'm with you on that. An iguana–how dangerous is that?
They just intimidate, then scurry away, but I'm not one to take chances after dark in a country where I don't have tons of allies. 🙂
Congrats on the cat story! I definitely would have been running from that iguana, too.
I'm glad to hear that others are as cautious about these guys as I am.
I don't even like small lizards, so that iguana would've freaked me out!
He had a mission that night–to scare us out of his den!
Good story. Interesting! (though not appetizing in the way of eating.) 🙂
I always felt sorry for them in the marketplace. They didn't deserve to be treated so badly. Where's the SPCA when you need them?
that sure wasn't a regular thieving coon!
Come to think of it, no. And Laos is sans raccoons as far as I know.
haha bet it thought you two were nuts as it strolled away.
Congrats on the cat story, even as you mumble about the cat lol
Another pat on the back for Hatt and the cat! I did think I was crazy a lot of the time I lived there.
Wonderful story and congratulations on you publication.
It's actually just a short story, but I loved that images, so I decided to use it.
Iguanas are awesome! Since they can grow to six feet long, they can make excellent guard animals in the event of a burglar.
Congratulations on your new story!
They're frequently on the dinner menu in Laos. I've never liked the idea of eating them. They look so prehistoric that I think they deserve to live out their lives unbothered by us.
Ugh, on the menu! I guess that would be one way to get me on a starvation diet. 🙂
They do not look appetizing, but I've been told they taste like a very tender chicken. Still. . . .
Hi, Cheryl-Lee!
Your story about a close encounter of the iguana kind immediately reminded me of something that happened to Mrs. Shady years ago. Imagine this. She was in the powder room of our home seated on the toilet when she heard splashing in the water below. She jumped up, turned around, looked down into the bowl and discovered a large frog doing what appeared to be the breast stroke! By large I mean the critter spanned at least eight inches with his legs extended. Mrs. S ran, screaming all the way, to our lanai where she fetched a net we use to scoop up bugs on the surface of the water in the swimming pool. When she fished the frog out of the toilet it leaped into our family room and disappeared under the sofa. Our dog went crazy barking and trying to get at the creature. We put the dog in another room and eventually cornered the frog, carried it outdoors and released it. We have no idea how it got into the toilet in the first place.
I hope you have a great week, dear friend Cheryl!
I see a perfect scene in a movie with this happening. Tell Mrs. S. she needs to write that up!
I love a good kitty story. Congrats.
I would've laughed so hard at that iguana. And then like Bish, I'd try to catch it.
They aren't dangerous. They just look that way and in the dark, they sound as if they're ready to shred you.
I wish I could have been there. I have no fear of iguanas and know how to catch them and make them relax by scratching their bellies. 🙂
Congratulations on your latest story!
Send your phone number. I'm calling you next time.
Yikes! That would have had me running as well 🙂
I've often pictured us, Nong in her "sin," me in my cut offs hightailing it out of that room. Very laughable.
That was fun (for your readers – not for you!) thanks for sharing it and congrats on your cat story.
I find that a lot of things are funny in the re-telling, not so much during the experience.
Traveling is definitely the best education.
Each adventure provides a multitude of stories.
Congratulations on the cat book! Tough to beat that Hatt character when it comes to cats.
I bet you two scared that iguana more than it scared you.
I knew true terror, but that iguana did have some speed in him!