Tulane's visit to Capdau

Prior to Thanksgiving, I took four of my graduate students to visit James' 7th grade class and Mr. Baker's 8th grade class. My grad students planned two presentations each - one answering the question 'What is Public Health?' The other teaching students about an area that they specialize in. The presentation in James' class was on HIV/AIDS - and the 7th graders had lots of questions about how you transmit HIV, the difference between HIV and AIDS, what are symptoms of both, and a question that was asked repeatedly was - How do you know if you have it?

The experience was incredible - to see young kids asking serious and important questions and getting serious and accurate answers.

This photo is of James' class showing off their 'This is Public Health' stickers, which is a student-run campaign to inform people in the US about what public health is and isn't. Foll0w the link above to watch the short video. You'll enjoy it - the kids did.

Minnie's reign of terror continues...

I was hopeful that the grits had worked, because I hadn't seen Minnie in a few days. But I wasn't surprised when I saw Minnie or a Minnie look-a-like scurry out from behind the microwave across the counter and into the hood of the stove - all while I was making a pot of chili. Minnie obviously has no fear of me nor of heat, so I guess we are going to have to step up our efforts to remove her.

Most likely, the little mercenary at James' school, won't be available to hang out in the kitchen waiting to slap a mouse, so I've been looking into traditional traps. I figure if the mouse has to die, it should be a quick death, not the slow, miserable kind that comes with poison or sticky feet or grits.... And the neighborhood stray cats are fed so well by our shotgun-double housemates that I doubt they'll leave the comfort of their flannel-lined porch box to chase a living food source. James is opposed to investing any financial resources toward the mouse's demise, but I don't see another way. Suggestions?

there's more than one way to skin a cat

or kill a mouse...

Much to our surprise - our little Minnie Mouse became a hot topic of conversation during one of our Thanksgiving dinners (yes, we enjoyed multiple feasts and were full for three days following). Our landlords immediately set out to tell us a variety of ways to rid our lives of the beast - some highlights were - sticky traps, which the mouse runs over and remains stuck on until it dies; a complicated contraption involving a paper towel tube, peanut butter, and a bucket (the mouse would scamper into the tube, which is balanced on the bucket in search of the peanut placed strategically at the other end of the tube - the mouse then tips the balance and falls into said bucket????; dry grits with a bowl of water nearby (the mouse is supposed to eat the grits, get thirsty, drink the water, the grits would then expand in the mouses stomach, and the mouse would die). I tried the last one for a couple of nights and decided that, ultimately, I was just feeding Minnie and all of her friends.


Yesterday, a student at James' school came up with an even more brilliant and successful plan when a group of field mice were identified at Capdau. Through the chaos of mouse chasing and fleeing, this fourth grader, walked casually up to the mouse, slapped it with her bare hand - killing it on the spot. She then proceeded to pick it up with a clean white paper towel and happily display it to Mr. McDonald, asking sweetly, "Is this what you wanted?"

back to work

After a week of freedom, filled with po-boys & other foods, ferry rides, and adventuring about, James headed back to Capdau this morning. I wonder what his students will teach him today.