RATS

Pun meloncholily intended: this message is a fairwell to the most fearless mouse ever to scurry the Earth, or even the universe... the mighty Sancho Panza de Mendoza.

The critter valiantly made the who-knows-how-many-kilometers-long voyage by bus and thumb through Patagonia and into the unknown, the Tierra del Fuego, to the southernmost city in the world. He made it through border crossings between Chile and Argentina esconced in socks, tucked under seats, and concealed in pockets, explored the Tierra del Fuegian wilderness despite rains and winds, fearlessly mounted on my shoulders through valleys and over blustery mountain passes, surviving the occasional sub-freezing night by nothing more than the warmth of his own breath. Alas, after crossing borders to get back onto the Argentine mainland, a last minute flustered transfer of trucks left the poor guy stuffed in a jacket and under the seat of a certain Hugo de La Rioja´s cargo truck, never to be seen by mine eyes again, eyes deafeaned by the pitch dark two day ride in a refrigerator big rig´s trailer gripped by the Patagonian cold season, eyes iced over by emerging tears quickly frozen in place, eyes burnt by nothing more than the absence of his fiery mousiness.

Alright so I didn´t cry but my heart is a bit broken. He was a good mouse, and with his wit and charm is surredly in the hands of a caring grandchild of Hugo´s.

God speed you little white rodent. I´ve always envied your whiskers, so this mustache´s fer you.