Raccoons, Possums, and New Friends

The Weekly Read #16, "Raccoons, Possums, and New Friends"

Somewhere between Los Angeles and New York there is a family of raccoons living meticulously in a pair of bushes.  I no longer fear them.  Two weekends ago I flew over this kit of raccoons for work.  I had a modeling gig in the big apple that I am legally bound not to speak further about.  So instead, I will tell you about a conversation I had with a lady I met for the first time.  

The interaction began as most do: with an inspection.  Our minds do this every time we are around people, subconsciously and consciously. We take in the information available to determine whether or not this human being is a potential threat, lover, or friend.  If none of the above, we disregard and go about our day. 

Well, in this situation, I determined that she was a potential friend.  She came up to me and introduced herself, so I followed suit.  A classic mirroring technique. She asked me a question I can’t remember at this moment, but I then proceeded to parade her with a barrage of questions about who she is.  I love to do that. 

Eventually we ended up talking about the rats that roam the streets of the city.  Being a current resident outside of New York City, I decided to tell a tale of the current city I live in and our seemingly vast population of skunks.  (Side note: While I am not sure if it is truly a population that is deserving of the adjective vast, there is certainly a smell of skunk spray common and strong enough to evoke the possibility of an immense number of them living in communion with my neighborhood.) I told one of my favorite personal anecdotes about when Jack’s dog, Malcolm, was sprayed directly between the eyes by a skunk one casual night at home.  After I finished the details of my comedic tragedy, she told me about a time she thought she saw a cat underneath a car and approached it to say hello. Well, she continued her story to say that after getting within a few feet of this animal, she was dismayed to be hissed at by what she then recognized to be a possum. 

The thought of believing you were about to pet a nice street cat, only to be threatened by a possum is quite a terrifying one.  I am personally not a fan of possums.  The proportion of their tail to body ratio plus their stereotypical colored coat brings out a physical reaction of disgust I am not in control of.  However I do believe, with time, I could grow to admire the mighty possum. Even after a quick google search and reading that they “enjoy apples, grapes, cherries, and blackberries” makes me more fond of them. Still, I do not believe I stand alone in my fear.  The word Opossum (the preferred spelling of possum used in technical and scientific writing) comes from the Algonquian word aposoum, which means "white dog" or "white beast". 

After resonating with my new friend about our shared feelings of possums, she then compared her level of fear of the white beast to her fear of the raccoon.  Usually I am not one to stick up for raccoons, but in this instance I felt my past apprehension towards the little thieves diminish significantly after picturing possums in my mind's eye for the previous few minutes.  In this moment I realized that the space between my level of fear for the possum versus my level of fear for the raccoon could fit a range of mountains and valleys.  I began to see raccoons in a new light.  

Although I am one that loves to play devil’s advocate when a colleague makes a statement, I truly did discover a new perspective that I wanted to explore. When I pictured a raccoon in the eyeball of my mind, I saw beautiful black leather driving gloves on the small hands of a friend. I saw the black circles around the eyes of a sweet little creature.  I imagined the little trash panda holding brightly colored pieces of thrown out produce in its petite hands.  I felt a smile ease its way onto my face.  I described what I saw to my new friend.

Sadly, my new friend did not experience the warmth and joy that I did in my new perspective of the commonly mistaken marsupial. Instead, she agreed to disagree and we continued on with our dive into who each other were and are. We each made a new friend that day. 

A true friend doesn’t have to agree with you on everything, but will try to understand where you are coming from.  That is the kind of friend that I am trying to harbor more of.  I am blessed to say that I have quite a few of them already.  

In our lives we will make many friends. Some will stay and many will go.  All that we can do is make the most of every moment we have with these friends, being honest and finding the fun that’s to be had together. 

If not already, one day I hope that you and I can call each other friends.  This email does not have to be a one-way street.  I love when you email me back with whatever you’d like to talk about.  Conversation is usually one of my favorite things in this world.  That and sugar.

Anyways, please remember to have a good day……aaaaaand……..

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