Possum Drop

The heat and air guy said that there's some kind of critter littering up our crawl space. I'm not real excited about that, but don't expect me to go poking around down there to check. I'm afraid I met the creature last night. He was calmly eating out of the cat's bowl on the front porch. I looked at him. He looked at me and kept chewing. I shooed him off and he relocated about ten feet away and waited for me to go back inside. I watched for signs of rabies (frothing at the mouth, hissing, aggressive behavior) but no. I think he wanted me to pet him. It was a possum, slick and ugly as snot. 

I remember one time, as a kid, finding a baby one in the yard. It was cute and docile and I picked it up and carried it around all day. My Mama had a fit. Later in the afternoon, it curled up and appeared to die. I cried and wrapped it in an old baby blanket. I went to get a shovel to bury it with, but when I came back it was gone. My Daddy smiled and told me about what it means to play Possum.

When I was tempted to pet the one on my porch last night (there is apparently still a child inside this body), I remembered about them being nasty creatures, carrying diseases, and the like. I also started thinking about playing Possum. There are so many scenarios in this life that could use a little of that. There's wisdom in being quiet and still, waiting until the storm passes or the bully loses interest. They say if somebody tries to abduct you, just act like you passed out and don't "help" them walk you into their vehicle. I remember one of our dearly departed 80-pound dogs, and how it took two people to carry her to the car after she died. Heaven help somebody who attempted to haul me into some conversion van with me playing Possum. It would be like a real exaggerated example of turning the other cheek. I'm not sure if they'd get mad and run over me or get tired and leave. Either way, I think I might try this tactic in other ways in the next few weeks. If anyone gets mad at me, I'll just pass out. I'm getting excited about all the prospects.