Well, all right.
I’ve lived in Detroit most of my life, and have seen some pretty big rats here. The biggest one I’ve ever seen, however, was in Cleveland.
I was in The Flats during Undercurrents, a 3-day music fest showcasing unsigned bands at various bar/pub/club-filled locations each night. My roomies at the time (probably '96 or so) included four chaps who were members of 4 different bands, one of their GFs, and my then-BF. One of those bands, Fathers of the Id,* had sent in a demo, and was invited to perform.
My BF and I decided to have a smoke and a walk at one point after The Fathers’ set, and we wandered out into a parking lot.
We walked past a couple dumpsters, and a rat as big as a good-sized opossum took a casual jog between them.
My BF jumped, and screamed like a little girl. I was already pointing and laughing like hell at the rat, then pointed at my BF and laughed at his reaction. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t hide behind me.
I laughed so hard and for so long, my stomach ached.
Oh, and, yes, I do know the difference between rats and opossums. I got a good, long look at that sucker as it sauntered along [LOL], and it was indeed A Rat.
*IKR?! They were as great as their name: the singer/guitarist sounds like a cross between James Brown and Aretha, the bassist has A Golden Thumb, and the drummer has Perfect Time. Psychedelic, funky, weird, bluesy, trippy AF, and lotsa fun.
