Probably Rabid
Showed up one day on our porch. Drank water like it was going out of style and didn’t show fear (or aggression). He “leaked”.
This was one of his good days.
Hung around for a while then … gone. (good!)
Generally, I don’t care for ‘coons but I gave this one food and water. And didn’t get close.
Couldn’t bring myself to call the “cops” on him; couldn’t bring myself to do him in. At least, not this one.
Mean, nasty, often rabid critters. Don’t understand others wanting one for a pet. They will turn on you.
And you don’t want rabies shots. (but yes you do if you get bitten)
I got rabies shots at 9 years old after an encounter with a mouse at a Cub Scout meeting in the barracks at the Carlisle War College, 1964.
The mouse bit my finger and I threw it on the floor and it scurried off never to be seen again. Supposedly they have to dissect the animals brain to find out if it’s rabid.
So I had to get 1 shot in the belly per day for 14 days in a row. The first one knocked my ass out but the rest went without incident. Now, I have no real recollection of it, no further info.
Us 5 kids had lots of adventures running wild in rural Pennsylvania early 1960’s.
Lot’s of ‘coons, the 4 legged kind, around here in Hoosierville and I likes all the wild creatures. Throw our food scraps out in the back yard and they’re gone the next morn. What a country!
Bout 20 years ago while pheasant hunting, a skunk charged me. Rabid or defending its young mattered not as my buddy shot it three times with 12 gauge 4 shot. The smell….. To this day he swears he saved my life. Heheh.
Had one in the backyard a few years ago in March showing evident signs of distemper. Had to euthanize it. Kindest thing to do to them with that affliction.
10 years back had a coon family living in a hole quite high up in a tree not far from a balcony on the back of the house. Four little faces used to peep out at me in the early evening. They were very cute babies.
The babies are cute; probably why people want to try and have them as pets. The adults usually revert to type though.
There is a wonderful and probably long forgotten book by Sterling North about growing up in Wisconsin around the time of WWI and adopting a baby racoon, Rascal.
It’s a charming and touching story but Rascal ends up causing trouble as he matures and has to be released back into the wild.
Kinda like M K Rawlings “The Yearling” ‘cept the dad made the boy kill his pet deer.
OMG, that book was a tear jerker!
Yes it was. And so was the movie.
All of her books are amazing. I have two sets of first editions of all of them.
I have “Rascal” on a bookshelf.
Also North’s book, “The Wolfling”, not just a great story, but a historical piece of early Americana as well.
I cherish books from my childhood; probably because I had little else.
Who knows, maybe one day it will be like reading it for the first time.
Oh me too! I’ve kept all of my childhood books. I have Rascal, the Yearling, the Wolfing. Also A Sand County Almanac which while not exactly a children’s book is one i read as a teenager and is a great book. Then all my English ones, The Wind in The Willows, Black Beauty and all my fairy books. Rereading them, even just a chapter, is a joy.
Tried to leave a comment on the Bob Seger song but it wouldn’t work, so I’ll leave it here.
Didn’t care for it, only listened to a minute – it was that bad.
Sort of sounded like early to mid 60’s bubblegum toonage.
And poorly engineered.
The drummer was decent but Bob’s voice was way too high pitched and he was straining.
FWIW, when my wife and I got married in 84 she said I looked like Bob Seger on the cover of his Night Moves album.
I tried to force your comment to “Noah” but it set up strange and wouldn’t let me. I’ll have to look into that; no one’s mentioned it before.
The drummer (Pep Perrine) had a drum set which included tuned 55-gallon oil barrels. This is Bob Seger System with his first hit (Ramblin Gamblin Man) in 1970. Used to see them play this in ’68 when he was still playing guitar at local clubs with a $1 cover. The drummer lived in an old farmhouse in my home town; Peppy was a little nuts … like most drummers I’ve known. The Seger System equipment truck was painted with Lucy Blue on the side, they hung around with a very local band “Tea”. Them’s was the days …
www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=sFlI4ceQOiU&t=9s