Did they play that cartoon about the rat and the cat always fighting each other when you were young?  I remember them like they are yesterday.  I used to really like that rat.  He seemed like a carefree guy that just liked having fun.  Heck, I wanted to be like him.  Yeah, that explains a few things.  After I grew up, I realized the cat was the nice guy and the rat was just the jerk that loved to torment him.  That was a mind-altering revelation right there.