There’s a belief amongst some biblical scholars that “Methusaleh”, the moniker of the putatively oldest man in recorded history, means “When he is dead, it shall come”. Why this matters? Some scholars believe that Methusaleh was on the side of “good”, and if he did, indeed, live to the grand old age of 969, he would have been alive just as the Great Flood of Reckoning began. If he was on the side on Good, however, he would not have been included in the dead of the flood. So it matters that he died before the flood.
What does this have to do with anything? Nothing really, but the Deer Mouse previously known as Mowcie Maus, having attained four years of age, earned the moniker Methuselah as a tribute to his advanced age. The oldest recorded deer mouse in captivity was about 6 years old. Most of these critters live to be about two years old. MM, or MMM, was 5 years and 4 months old (roughly) when his advanced age let him die in his sleep, surrounded by sweet grasses and oilseed sunflower seeds. Rescued by Jessa von Fabaceae, Waldkönigin, he outlived his rescuer by four months.
The Caustic one will miss watching him forage for food, and listening to him running up and down the metal ramp in his habitat at 2:00 AM. He was quite brilliant! He preferred corn on the cob, so CO grew various organic popcorns and dent corns in the little garden, producing just enough to supply MMM with clean local food. When the supply was not sufficient, organic popcorn cobs supplemented the diet. The cobs were completely cleared of kernels, with no damage to the cobs; when a cob was stripped, MMM pulled the empty cob out of his little house- box to let me know that another cob was required.
So now, I wait.
for the Flood.
of tears.