On my nightly walk I stopped to pet a skunk.
Well, i did not end up petting him, but we did have a good chat.
I work in an industrial complex in Irving. You do not see much wild life, or much of Any life around here at 2am.
Tonight as I was trucking along in my battle to beat the flab of a sit down, overnight desk job i happen by a skunk walking along the road in the grass next to me.
For those that know me here i am a lover of animals of most types. Taking this site in i was reminded of a childhood friend name Charles. He was one of the kindest people you would ever want to meet. A heart that would make a Clydesdale feel inadequate. He had a small farm near the coast in VA in the village where we grew up called Quinby.
Charles had almost every type of pet you can think of, and some before I met him i did not know Could be pets. He had a bat, wild birds, squirrels, you name it, but nothing prepared me for when I saw him petting a skunk one afternoon. Now, I will point out that he was not what most people called bright, but he was Wise in ways that took me many years to figure out. "Dont be scared." He said staring me in the eyes. Easy for you to say mate, I had a date that night and could see this blowing up in my face. "If you are scared she will know and that will make her scared." This made so little since to me at 12 that I understood it perfectly, and oddly enough his calm relaxed me. I walked up to them and grabbed one of the strawberries in the basket next to him and offered it to her. It was friends at first bite.
This friendship showed me a lot about people in general. Some people you meet are things others have told you are bad, smelly, or evil. That stigma sticks to them like a skunks stripe so people meet them and back off for fear of getting it one them. i have literally hear an old woman tell her grand kids not to touch the Gay or it might rub off on them. It does not matter the group; Gay, black, native, white, Arab, furry, punk, christian, you name it, there is always some other group that tears into them to vilify. When I lived in a mostly Mexican apartment complex they hated the blacks. Living in a "black block" in St Louis they hated the whites and Mexicans. The Christians hate the gays and Arabs.
This is NOT to say there are not Good, honestly, and caring people in every group. That is the one thing that gives me hope for the rest of humanity, but i have yet to meet a group that does not hate someone.
This all saddens me, but then i think of people like Charles. While he was "just one man" he changed how I saw the world, and he did it with just a bit of faith and kindness. So instead of railing against all the ones that Hate others, I just try to spread a bit of in site and kindness where I go.
As to the skunk i meet tonight. Well, i sat down near him and extended my hand. He looked me over and came close enough to sniff me but would not let me touch him. i respected his choice and waited for him to move of so he know i was not a treat. I did not want to have to go back to work and tell them why I needed to go home.
Disclaimer: I am not the brightest person and in NO way advocate people trying to pet wild animals. Most of them dont like it any more then you would like random strangers grabbing you.
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