It was cold, rainy and very dark when I was driving to the gas station this morning. The dull feeling in my skull from waking in the middle of the night had not yet shrunk to a normal level. I was driving along when I picked up the sight of four rapidly moving tiny feet coming at me at a ninety degree angle. I moved my eyes and saw an Opossum on a collision course with my car. He was homing in on my car like some crazed Opossum missile. I swerved hard to avoid him, hoping that my car did not spin out of control. As I passed the perceived point of impact, I let go of the breath I was holding waiting for the "Thud" that never came. I went on to work with a "You are not going to believe what happened to me" story. I am sure the Opossum was telling a different version of the story!
I began to think it strange that the night before I was reading an animals tracks book with the last page I read was the Opossum.
My brain deviated to the time I was taking a live trapped Opossum to a place that gave it less opportunity to get into trouble. I was stopped by a woman who was looking for some directions. She saw the captured lil' guy and said, "You should kill it, they eat baby birds." Being as I was working at a bird sanctuary I am sure she thought I would readily agree. Her face became angry when I said "Everything has it's place" she quickly responded by saying "I guess you are not as hard as I am!". I responded with the same phrase, despite thinking, "I am not as ignorant and mean!" I am sure my face betrayed me because she stomped her "Hard" little self back to her truck.
I continued on my little mission and was very pleased at the spot I picked, and opened the trap. The Opossum ran at full speed down a creek and into the forest. I believe he had heard the conversation I had with his potential executioner, and that he was running as fast as he could from people more "Hard" than I was. The Opossum also had tell his "You are not going to believe what happened to me" story.
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