« Headline of the week | Main | Piercing the Veil »
November 14, 2006
One clumsy masked bandit.
Walking down the street, minding my own at about 7:45 p.m. when I heard a scrabbling noise above my head.
I'd barely completed my next stride when something whooshed past my nose and smacked the sidewalk with a force. My brain was taking forever to process events -- what is that? is that a cat? no, too big. Daylight savings and a paucity of streetlights on our block weren't helping.
ringed tail/humped back
The raccoon lay still and quiet, about three feet in front of me. I'm vaguely familiar with Procyon lotor, so I resisted the urge to take the little fella home and look him over for boo-boos. Rabies and distemper are excellent excuses for missing work, however. Slackers, take note.
It shook itself and let out a low growl. While I was wondering whether I was going to have to stun Ranger Rick with my 30G iPod, it rose on its haunches and scuttled uncertainly up the block. The creature weaved into the first available yard before backing out in an anxious daze, then darting into the next yard, repeating this pattern all the way up the block.
At the end of the street, it crossed over and ran back down the block in the opposite direction. A very large man walking a very small dog jumped aside while die Waschbär scuttled past in search of a quiet spot where he/she could pull itself together. I lost track of the furry acrobat in the shadows.
So: Gravity, 1/Raccoons 0. Also, I'll be checking our windows closely this evening.
Posted by Your Protagonist at November 14, 2006 11:12 PM