Blow Up the Rat!!!

First of all, the title of this blog does not refer to a new explosive pest control method. Let me explain-with the teachers’ strike going on in Chicago, a newscast’s live shot featured a now –familiar sight- a large inflatable rat on display in front of one of the locations where the teachers had been picketing. Maybe it was supposed to be a certain shade of brown, but- in the shot I saw, it actually kind of looked like it was a golden rat! (I liked the idea of that- a giant golden rat- sounds like something Indiana Jones might have been in search of- hey, wait- Indy was a teacher! Is it a coincidence?!) Maybe it has something to do with ‘the golden rule”- do unto others, as they would do unto you- or, as some comics have put it, do unto others BEFORE they do unto you… Anyway, the giant inflatable rats seem to show up quite a bit in our area- basically, they are usually brought out to indicate some union issue, for example, when a business or organization is doing something that goes against the union, or is hiring non-union workers when they should be hiring union members. It’s used to attract attention- mostly negative attention- to whoever is felt to be the “rat” in the situation. I read an article a while back in the Sun Times about said rats- they are actually made here in our area, and, if I remember correctly, they are ordered all over the country, especially the east coast (supply your own joke to that one…) The rat has a name- “Scabby”- playing off the slang term for a worker who crosses a union picket line. The rats are especially popular with the construction trade-though other unions have used them for their disputes. In the article I mentioned, the gentleman who originally designed the rat balloon for a union tradesman many years ago said that his first version was a little too cute and cuddly looking! He had to make adjustments, and added some scary looking claws and fangs. I remember having lunch with a good friend, and , as we were walking back towards work, we spotted one of the inflato-rats. My friend had never seen one, and immediately wanted to take a picture of it! I’d bet that’s pretty common- I wonder how many of the teachers who were on the picket line now have a photo of themselves proudly standing next to the scurrilous Scabby! Maybe in the next big parade downtown in the city , where they use those big helium balloons, one of our local unions can bring Scabby along, fill him with helium, and proudly parade him down the parade route, as yet another familiar symbol of the city! Okay, a quick update from what I know at this point- WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “the King” Lawler continues to improve after his scary heart attack last Monday night. I’ve gotten a lot of comments from Sven fans who are also fans of Jerry, whether from wrestling or his historic work with Andy Kaufman, and the latest reports have been- tests show that he has not suffered any brain damage- he has been breathing on his own, communicating with friends and family, and even been up out of bed. Jerry is that rare specimen who has never smoked, drank alcohol, or used drugs- but heart disease do run in his family history. We all hope that he makes a full recovery, and will be back on the air doing commentary, with all his usual sharp wit, very soon.