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If it hadn't been for a well-placed coffee table, my surprise dinner guest would have turned my kitchen into a Disney amusement park and tapped danced through every nook and cranny of my home.

In fact, this dinner guest wasn't interested in the dinner menu, enjoying small talk or even a glass of wine. So, to make sense of this story, we have to back up to where it all started at a bank parking lot.

You see, my mother-in-law was the real invited dinner guest and was on her way to our house from her job at the bank when she soon discovered a stowaway had set up a Mickey Mouse Club inside her car.

A flashback to the children's show it was not, and this Mouseketeer didn't show up for roll call, either.

In a panic, my mother-in-law called to say she'd be a little late for dinner as a mouse had decided to take up residence inside her car. Not to mention, it wasn't even close to being as cute as a Mouseketeer and had about as much song and dance talent as Elmer Fudd.

Not being able to chase out the whiskered hitchhiker, she had no choice but to get in her car and drive. Her plan was to make a pit stop at her local auto shop to de-varmint her car from any looming Mickey Mouse mayhem.

You can imagine the hesitation you'd feel driving across town knowing a mouse was lurking somewhere beneath your feet or, worse yet, riding shotgun without a moment's notice.

When my mother-in-law arrived at our house an hour later a little shaken and rattled, she dumped her belongings in a hurried haste and proceeded to tell her titillating tale of the mouse gone rogue in her car.

No doubt, we were all "ears" when she explained that the mechanic at her loyal auto shop had searched high and low for Mr. Mouseketeer. Not even the promise of a good talent agent could reel this pesky rat out.

"I think your mouse has left the building," the auto mechanic exclaimed.

Believing in her mechanic, she took his word for it and continued on her journey.

No sooner had she finished her mouse story and the great escape, when we heard a pesky nibbling at the kitchen wall.

This Mouseketeer didn't have nearly the resemblance to Annette, Bobby, or Cubby and, for you younger folks, not Britney or Justin either. In fact, through my eyes, this wasacally rodent was huge, hairy and had claws the size of Shere Kahn scratching at the wall.

Naturally, we screamed and my mother-in-law shouted, "That's it, there it is!"

How in Looney Tunes did it end up in my kitchen? One striking clue was an overturn purse on the table with remnants of scavenged mints inside. This would entice any Mouseketeer wanting to hitch a ride on the candy train. It's still a mystery how a sneaky mouse piggybacked undetected inside a purse.

It was my husband's quick thinking to grab the coffee table to block off the kitchen entry. This runaway rodent wouldn't be slipping through again!

With the courage of a real Musketeer, my hubby swiftly snatched up a broom to corner the sneaky critter into submission. With one sudden thrust of the broom, it was curtains for this Mickey Mouse show!

Tonight, there'd be one less guest for dinner and one less Mouseketeer with a shot at stardom.

Consequently, after writing this loony story, it's only appropriate to end with a quote from another famous Looney Tune character..."Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th...That's all, folks!"

- Laurie Oien

Laurie Oien is a wife and mother living in Minnesota and determined to uncover the second half of life with zest and zeal. She has a background in marketing and accounting for the last 25 years and recently discovered that one can't live by adding machines and numbers alone. Therefore, she created a humorous lifestyle blog. Laurie has been a contributor to Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop and Midlife Boulevard. Also, she's a featured author in the anthology, Feisty After 45, released by Mills Park Publishing. Laurie blogs at A Square of Chocolate.