I never had any critters growing up, really…I liked frogs and stuff but I would never have touched them as a kid because I loved playing outside but didn’t like getting dirty and slimy. I did however bring a mealworm home that we raised in school as a science project and kept him for a few weeks until he died.

When I was a kid I lived in an urban area, but I spent every weekend at my mom’s co-worker’s farm exploring the woods on a little black pony. One time my friend and I went for a long gallop along the edge of a hay field. When we got back, we discovered that her pony had stepped on a frog and his hoof was packed full of gross amphibian guts. It was NOT pretty but I can only assume it was a quick, painless death.

We didnt do frogs in school, instead we got rats. I still recall the day some of my classmates’s rats dried out and they had to crowd around those of us with good rats left. The day we did reproductive organs was hilarious. Despite my bad motor control skills, I got to be the one wielding the blade as my male classmates winced at me poking around rat testicles. It would have been enjoyable if not for the scent…

-at age 10, on rainy days, at recess, I would go outside and patrol the pavement, searching for post-rainfall worms…after finding them, I would take that little plastic red cheese-spreader thingy that comes with “cheese ‘n cracker” snack-packs, and I would cut the worms in half with this implement. I would cut in half as many worms as I could find, and strangely, they would still live, and each half would worm away from the other. I guess it was kind of mean to do that, but worms are so low on the foodchain, that I didn’t feel too guilty at the time (or now). Also I didn’t have too many friends at age 10, so this seemed like the way to pass time…whatever, I grew up to be cool and hot (enough), so it’s all good.