Because readers could relate to a "mouse in the house"...

When my friends think something is funny, I then feel good writing about it. I ran this idea about the "mouse in our house" on a blog recently and because of the response (you understood my problem) it grew into this column in our local paper.
Thanks a lot!

Sherlock “Homes”… I need you!

OK - So I'm NOT Sherlock Holmes (corrected spelling). But I could use some detective help.

Every autumn out here in the country it seems like a mouse decides to move in with us for a while. But then the little critter gets lost and ends up staying permanently!
And that leaves quite a smell! Whew!
The problem is that until the smell gets REALLY BAD you can't pin point where it's coming from! It's just ALL OVER the house!
(I know I'm using a lot of exclamation points but THIS IS REALLY GETTING BAD!)

Even the very cells of your nose seem permeated with the odor of dead mouse. Every sniff you breathe reeks of dead mouse.
When you go to town you wonder… maybe it’s not just my sense of smell. Do my clothes smell too?
You worry as you walk into the city hall council chambers for a meeting… is everyone going to turn and point and cry out… “Euuuch! Dead mouse smell!”

It’s actually a relief to head out to the horse barn because it smells good out there! Although as I pulled open a drawer holding some tack supplies, a fat brown mouse was peering up at me. I took the drawer outside and tipped him out into the grass.
No barn cats in sight. They’re nice and fat already I guess.
Maybe I should let the barn cats in the house for awhile. They’re allowed in the laundry room on especially cold winter nights. But by now this mouse is probably stuck somewhere inside a wall.

Maybe I should move into the barn!
It might be a compliment if someone said, “Where you living… in a barn?”

Last year I found a decaying mouse in the air return vent in a downstairs bedroom. This morning I heard something drop in the attic.
I guess that means the whole house gets a cleaning! (That's an overwhelming thought to this "housekeeping challenged" person... hopefully I can find the mouse first!)

Which way to safety?
The decision could mean their lives.

If they had taken the shorter route to safety, they might not be here today.
They could see the car ahead of them on the flooded highway reaching higher ground. It looked like they would be out of the rising torrent of mud and water soon. But they could not see that wood and debris had been caught under their car and would stall them and mean they would have to just try to save themselves.
Mike and Lori Fraser of Cannon Falls and sons Joshua, 10, Jacob, 4 and their 12 year old border collie/lab mix, Abby, had been camping in their pop-up trailer at the Pla-Mor Campground and Marina located about six miles south of Winona on Hwy 14/61 on the weekend of torrential rains in the area.

It was a “cruddy weekend”, Lori recalled, so at 3 a.m. Sunday morning they decided to pack up and leave. It had rained all day Saturday so the ground was mushy and it meant everything would be packed away while wet. And it was difficult for Lori who has rheumatoid arthritis in one knee.

Driving back up the “switch-back” road and onto the main highway was OK, Mike recalled, just slow going.
But when they got outside Minnesota City they realized they were in trouble. Although the car was still running it wasn’t moving. It had gotten hung up on debris. Joshua looked out the windows and exclaimed, “I think you’re moving.” But Lori explained that it was the water running by the car that was moving. They were stuck.

Lori called 911 and was told they would send a boat. The family watched the water rise outside their car. Soon the water covered their headlights. It got half way up their door.

They saw flashing police car lights about one block ahead of them. That’s where the car they were following had made it to higher ground.
What the Fraser’s did not know was that the road ahead of them had a dip in it. This meant that the water would probably have been up to Mike’s chest and the current was violently pulling everything with it.

In their rear view mirror Mike saw some flashlights. Two young men who had just graduated from high school were with the Goodview Police Reserve. They had also heard Lori’s 911 call and canceled the boat because they would help the family out.

And Mike decided to go back towards them instead of straight ahead.

They believe this likely saved their lives.

The police directed them to walk diagonally to the current for about a mile. Lori had their dog on a leash and Jacob was carried by one of the police reservists. The little boy recalled wondering, “Are they going to take us to jail?” He was happy to see that when they got to a safe area “They gave me a police dog puppy!” (Stuffed animal.)

But even with the rain gear they were soaked and only had the clothes they were wearing.

Joshua had had to leave his “Game Boy” (a hand held game console) in the car and the little stuffed black bear he had had since he was two years old. But after wading through muddy waters up to his waist he realized he probably wouldn’t have been able to save his stuff anyway.
Their clothes dried out while they wore them.

They spent about 45 minutes sitting in a fire truck while people were being rescued from a nearby motel. Then they were brought to a station were volunteers were handing out coffee and umbrellas and even socks. Yes, one person had gone to a nearby store and bought packages of socks for those rescued.

Later they were taken by a city bus to St. Mary’s University where the Red Cross was headquartered. While watching the TV they saw footage of their car and camper on the road! Here Jacob received another stuffed animal. A bear. He was so concerned about his brother leaving his in their flooded car that he insisted on giving this bear to him.

Jacob exclaimed to Joshua, “You’re the BEST brother in the world!” Older brother Joshua retorted, “I’m you’re ONLY brother!” But little Jacob insisted, “You’re still my best brother…”

Soon they called Lori’s Mom, Gay Gellert to see if she could come and get them. Not knowing the flooding dangers still going on, Gay asked a friend, Lyle Noble, to come along.

Several days later, the Frasers were able to see their impounded car and camper. The car was a total loss. The camper wasn’t covered by insurance so they brought it back home and were surprised to find that only a little mud had seeped in on the floor. But Lori explained that they used a lot of bleach in cleaning it up!
And they had been able to salvage just about everything else… including Joshua’s Game Boy and bear!

(Lori is a Goodhue County Social Worker and part of the South East Minnesota Behavioral Health Team that was organized to help in crises. Lori volunteered to go back to the area a few days later. She explained, “Our role is to assess the needs and talk to people and advise of the available services.”)

Sherlock "Homes"!

OK - So I'm NOT Sherlock Holmes...

Each Fall of the year, it seems like a mouse decides to move in for the winter.

But then it seems the little critter gets lost and ends up staying permanently!

But what a smell!

The problem is that until the smell gets REALLY BAD you can't pin point where it's coming from!

It's just ALL OVER!

I know I'm using a lot of exclamation points but THIS IS REALLY GETTING STRONG!

Last year I found a decaying mouse in the air return vent downstairs.

This morning I heard something drop in the attic.

I guess that means the whole house gets a cleaning!

Who is lying? The politician... the salesman... you?

Can you tell when someone’s lying?

Can you tell when someone is lying just by watching their hands or feet? Would you like to know what signals you might be sending out unknowingly? This type of communication may be the least understood and most important facet of communication according to Kevin Hogan of Eagan, MN.
Kevin has a background in psychology and authored 11 books plus several teaching series including Body Language: Decoding, Interpreting & Mastering Nonverbal Communication.

He has assisted all four major television networks and the nation’s largest newspapers. He also teaches Persuasion and Influence at the University of St. Thomas Management Center. He is an international public speaker, consultant and corporate trainer.

On political news programs, Kevin was asked to predict the outcomes of the Bush/Gore and Bush/Kerry campaigns.

He explained how a superior candidate blew his clear lead and position in large part because of body language.

Also, Kevin revealed he was the “ first person to identify that Bill Clinton did indeed have sex with Monica Lewinsky.”

A lawyer explained that they used Hogan's research when coaching defendants, in witness preparation, and selecting a jury.

So what are some hints to look for in body language? Kevin cautions that “… certain body language signals might mean something to one person and something entirely different to someone else. And body language differs culturally… just like different languages. For example: gestures, like raising your middle finger in the U.S. may be derogatory but in another country it can mean “good job."
But deception can be detected by understanding body language. Some people like celebrities, lawyers and politicians may cloak their feelings when in public. Kevin feels you can learn to read them.

***

Talk about “Body Language!” An invitation to a “party-networking event and charity auction for the homeless” for the top internet marketers in the world recently found Kevin Hogan at the Hugh Hefner home in Los Angeles known as “The Playboy Mansion”.

***

Clue #1: Look at their feet. “People generally have no trouble controlling their torso, even their hand gestures and sometimes facial changes. But it is hard for the person who is lying to pay attention to their feet!” Kevin explained that he tries to get “a sense for how their feet normally move in conversation. When someone deceives, their feet "behave" differently. That's my best and probably most reliable cue.”
Clue #2: Look at the pupils in their eyes and watch for changes. “Some peoples’ pupils get bigger and some get smaller. It’s the change he looks for.
Clue #3: Check their attitude… expressions of “boredom, indifference, and unconcern. These are tough states to fake for most people because they are typically unaware of their behavior...” Kevin continued: “The person will try to look indifferent, but because they aren't used to behaving this way they are trying to guess what they are acting like. Unfortunately for them, it's usually a dead giveaway.”
Clue #4: How are they speaking? If people stumble over their words, repeat phrases or words, when this is not their normal behavior, this is a pretty useful "tell" as well.
Clue #5: “Scratching around the mouth or cheek area is considered a dead giveaway that you are lying. And even under the best of circumstances, it looks kinda weird and gross…”
Clue #6: Crossing your arms - people read this as a defensive, nervous gesture. You might not feel this way; it might simply be a position you find comfortable. But perceptions are what count here.

It sounds like a good idea to pay attention to your unconscious perception of what a person really means. And you should check on what you might inadvertently be saying with your own body language!

(Kevin Hogan will be leading a seminar on The Science of Persuasion in London, England in October plus his training series are available at: http://www.kevinhogan.com/.)

When doing a follow-up training program for the account executives at Fortis MeesPierson, the seventh largest private bank in Europe, Kevin was invited to tour the Maserati automobile plant in Bologna, Italy. This Maserati was priced at about $450,000. Two days earlier Kevin had fallen in the street and broken two ribs so there was some pain behind his smile!

Wild grapes... summer's end.

The sweet-sour tang

of wild grapes...

clinging to the old fence

as it lines down the gravel road

to the farmstead...

just the thought makes your mouth tingle

with its memory.