That Gen-X time latchkey kids were encouraged to collect rodents
In the 70s my family’s knowledge of plastic exceeded our knowledge of gerbils, so we bought two girl gerbils and a plastic Habitrail cage because it didn’t look like a cage at all. The two girls made babies, and started eating them. We thought that meant the cage was too small, so we bought more Habitrail stuff.
We had tunnels connecting more habitual not-cages, and then the not-girls had more babies and the babies that didn’t get eaten grew up and then everyone fought each other so we bought more plastic contraptions for everyone. We even made the gerbils run around my dollhouse which had been, until now, the most palatial of all things in my bedroom.
The cat was very interested. And by the time there were 20 gerbils, the cat had a pretty much full-time job searching for an opening in the Habitrail. To give you an idea of timespan here, gerbils go into heat every four days. So it was just long enough for my grandma to hear that the dollhouse was not getting enough attention and she sent over new living room furniture from Bonwit Teller.
It was the 70s. So by the time the package arrived, the cat figured out how to open the top of the biggest section of the Habitrail. It was a far jump for the gerbils so when I came home from school and the top was dislodged, I knew it was only one missing. So I opened the front door of our house, and the cat would leave, gerbil in mouth.
We were almost in homeostasis: The cat got a gerbil a day. A gerbil got pregnant every four days. My parents bought new Habitrail pieces when the gerbils ate through the plastic, which was weekly. And my grandma sent me new furnishings for the dollhouse every time she went to Bonwit Teller which was also weekly.
Here’s the other thing about my family though.
My mom was a VP in the Fortune 500 and couldn’t hire a babysitter. My dad went to Harvard Law School. By day a high-powered Chicago trial attorney, by night, a gerbil warden.
Genius is an off-kilter brain and so is gerbils. My drive to understand autism is to make sense of how gerbils and genius exist in the same family. Learning about autism means learning to live with all parts of the brain even if it’s not what people are expecting. Autism is seeing how the genius and the crazy go hand in hand and can even thrive that way under the best conditions.
I’m starting another autism course Dec. 3. If you think you might be autistic, or you might have someone in your family who is autistic, or if you are just curious about why I won’t shut up about this topic, then you should sign up for the course.
We’ll meet online Dec 3, 4, 5, 6 at 8 pm. Eastern. There will be videos if you can’t make those times.
You can find out more about the course here.
Homeostasis FTW! A Stelarc piece gone mad. Childhood surburban dystopian capitalist noir. You sure pack a punch, P. Think I’ll skip dinner …
Hi Paul,
I read it and was lost for words.Dsytopian is the one I was looking for.How can you watch this play out repeatedly and not want to intervene?
I hear you Ann! It’s a poser. Let’s consider the Anthropocene. What’s more horrifying: rodents eating offspring, or a toy designed to showcase (facilitate?) same. No matter how I view it, humans seem like the ‘aliens’ on Earth. Then again, I feel like an alien among humans; so what would I know? But if this planet were to shrug us off over the next century or so, could we reasonably be surprised/upset – given all our dodgy antics? Tricky. :|
I had to look up Antropocene.And double check homeostasis in Penelope s post.Maybe the manufacturers presumed that only two females might be kept in it? Or they didn’t care once they sold them.You can get similar worm farms but they seem to make more sense.It was interesting for a city child to see they cycle or birth ,death and predation.Later on the farm there’s a version of it with cats.I learnt about Malthus in that one.
I had to check homeostasis too! Such a drear topic demands correct words at least. I love the idea of a feminist collective. Might have taught kids more than biology. Sadly, I don’t think that was the manufacturer’s plan. Great point re worms. I planted a ‘victory garden’ at the front of my house during lockdown. So many passing kids were stunned to see where food came from, their parents had to explain it all. I thought Malthus was on the money & way ahead of his time. Now I’m reminded of Play Little Victims by Kenneth Cook, which scared the bejesus out of me. He also wrote Wake in Fright – another fun romp through human-despoiled natural hellscapes. Seems we’re on quite the death trail. It’s amazing how blog posts can go … off.
A few years ago a friend of mine said her son had been labelled autistic by his school. I asked her what that meant. She read out a list of perfectly reasonable behaviours and actions. I said he sounded normal to me. He is very lucky to be really handsome and loves playing folk and rock music on his various instruments so he’s got company when he wants it. I think being sociable is overrated. If people don’t want to talk to you, there’s always a good book to read.
That said, I believe knowing some coping mechanisms might have been a huge help in my life, especially my career. I’ve always been aware that people loved me and my wild and crazy thinking but found my persona annoying.
Good luck with your autism course. I think it would be brilliant for young women going off to college. Some of the mistakes I made have me cringing even now.
You know what, I should do a list of hacks for someone with autism, so they don’t drive other people crazy. I literally wore the same thing for six months and this gal in my dorm came in and shook my other clothes in my closet in my face. While it’s sad to me that she was so bothered, you might as well be aware and perhaps invest in scarves, they’re £2 each at a charity shop.
Hi, Carol. The psychologist who first flagged my ‘Asperger-like traits’ suggested I write a blog. This turned out to be great for me. Unexpectedly, others also reported finding it helpful. So I reckon your hacks idea is ace. You may even get a book out of it. Kindly, P.
… While your ‘scarf masking’ idea is elegant, there’s also an argument for sticking to your guns. (Though I’ve learnt the hard way that it’s important to pick your battles.) Further reading:
https://www.openculture.com/2015/12/instructions-for-knitting-the-iconic-dr-who-scarf.html :)
Paul, I love your idea of a book full of hacks.
I’ve got a lawyer costume for accompanying friends to NHS appointments, for instance. The American accent and the yellow pad, along with the thousands in clothes and accessories, tends to get an excellent reaction.
Hi, Carol. Sounds like you’re in the (not so?) United Kingdom. If so, I hear the NHS is under ever greater stress. So, attending with a lawyer sounds like fun that may actually be sensible too! Australia has the NDIS. As we speak, autism diagnoses (already costly & fraught) are being demonised. I was flirting with the idea of taking the plunge, but it sounds like VOCAT on home-made steroids – very bad juju. Think I’ll see what 2024 brings. Meanwhile, your hack book could literally cut both ways. Those of us without social graces must often ‘hack’ our way through social labyrinths. Yet your ‘smart’ hacks could turn our frowns upside down. (:
I am equal parts enthralled and horrified
This brings back not-so-great memories from 45 years ago. I can still remember the incessant nightly sound of the chewing of the plastic items in the cage such as that red “curiosity cube.” I also remember with horror the slightly different crunching sound and then the question of where did the babies go? What prompted us to get gerbils? I don’t know…this was back in the day when you went to the mall and they had a “Doctor Pet” pet store with puppies for sale and you could bring the unplanned offspring of all animals back to the store and they would buy them from you…(but, what did they actually do with them? never really thought about that until now!) The habitrail modular world was intriguiging and offered the promise of building a little mini-city of tunnels full of rodents. Today…I’ll stop there.
You brought the babies back to the pet store and they’d pay you? So crazy. Like rodent mafia.
Penelope