The Flying Cockroach

Dad’s battle with an invader (second of two shorts based on my Dad)

Photo by RHJ

Our move to an inland house seemed perfect until we discovered that cockroaches of all kinds, even flying ones, had infested it.

My dad had the house exterminated and fumigated, not once, but several times before we moved in. He hated cockroaches as much as he hated mice and rats. He was determined to rid the house of cockroaches and vermin. After moving in, we didn’t see any mice or cockroaches for a year.

One night after dinner, mom had just filled the kitchen sink with warm, soapy water, dad stood ready with a clean dish towel to dry and put away the dishes, and I had cleared some dishes from the table when a shadow passed in front of the light fixture above the table.

I looked up, and to my horror, saw a flying cockroach.

Now, I was afraid of flying cockroaches.

I had heard a rumor of a flying cockroach getting tangled in a girl’s hair just long enough to lay eggs. Several days later, the girl awoke screaming as tiny cockroaches crawled from her head onto her face and in…