Have you ever been caught off guard and caught a blow in the nose?
Have you ever experienced an unexpected hit in the nose? It happened to me last week as I stepped out the door to get the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, our daily newspaper. Let me explain….
The blow was quite a shock, especially at six o’clock in the morning, when it is totally black outside. It’s my every morning ritual to head out the door shortly before six to retrieve the paper. Having been involved with ink and paper for so many years, I’d be lost without my daily fix of scanning the headlines, looking at the pictures, reading stories and, sometimes, even getting mad at some editorial or column, or a cartoon that, to me, goes overboard. I really enjoy state- or area-based editorial cartoons even though they sometimes touch my irritation spot.
That’s when it happened. It was a shock. The experience sent me reeling; it almost pushed me back inside the door. But, no way, getting that paper is a first priority. I made a quick recovery.
Looking around, I couldn’t see any sign of the power which delivered that jarring blow. I was sure it wasn’t one of the neighbors. I live in a peaceful neighborhood. But it must have been delivered by a familiar face in the neighborhood. He or she had vanished, and I felt the attack wasn’t going to be repeated.
I ventured out to the driveway where the paper was waiting. It never fails to be there. Maria, who
has been delivering our paper for years, must rank as one of the most dependable, if not the best, carrier in the entire delivery system.
I rubbed my hand across my face and blinked to recover full vision in my eyes that had also felt the force of that unexpected blow. I stopped, picked up the paper, glanced up and down the road and headed back to the house. Everything was quiet, except for the whistle of the KCS freight train heading south through town.
It was then, quite suddenly, I remembered a scene I had witnessed several years ago. It was dark-thirty and I was on my way home from the News Herald office. From a spot almost a block away, the headlights of my car picked up a foreign object on the pavement. Drawing closer, the object began moving, or rather several objects began moving. It was a sight I’ll never forget. If only I had had a camera, it would have made a prize-winning picture — a black and white mother feline was marching slowly along the pavement, followed by three small black and white blobs, all in single file. I stopped. Completely. Until they wandered off the road into oblivion.
It was a cute, and pretty, mental picture that took my mind off the powerful defensive delivery from the most recent encounter with a black and white feline. Who of us hasn’t experienced such a blow in the atmosphere — particularly to the nose?
Skunks really are fascinating creatures. They are clean, predictable (I wonder what caused that outburst I had just experienced), as demonstrated by the motherly attention of that earlier encounter: motherly love and protection. Sadly, sometimes these attributes seem to be lacking or weak in our human species.
A black and white “kitty” can sometimes become a pet. You may know, or have known, someone who had a skunk for a house pet. Captured, cuddled and descented when a baby, the little creature can be tamed for household living. I’ve also heard that eventually they so often return to their native genes and then all (it can’t be stink) breaks loose.
Kinda reminds a person of the confusion and “breaking loose” that can and has occurred, and is occurring, in our political system. Perhaps … if some of the stinking odors that emanate from so many and are so magnified on a 24/7 basis by the boob tube and on social media … if a sensible descenting of all concerned were possible, perhaps our good old United States could get back on track. Don’t hold your breath.
Dodie Evans is a former owner and long time editor of the Gravette News Herald. Opinions expressed are those of the author.