Independence Day

I had the urge to watch Will Smith's Independence Day today. In my limited movie repertoire, this movie is the closest thing I know to celebrate of this country's independence from the king who insisted on taxation without representation. (Of course, I can go on to talk about the current situation of taxation without representation: the few people who pay for entitlement programs don't necessarily want to continue to pay for it, but the masses who receive entitlements will continue to vote for the politicians who want to expand entitlements. But that is another story for another day.)

Here in our household, we are also celebrating our independence from the rabid creatures who had lived with us for at least five weeks. While not as big and freaky looking as the beasts Will fought off, certainly, we never realized that we needed to fight off the raccoons either.

On Friday evening, I had made the command decision to not make dinner after a very looonnng week. (Any week after Indian Springs would be a long week.) While we waited for the delivery lady, (I found one single place in our town that delivers!) there came a knocking. The raccoon whisperer had arrived! I had left him a few messages with increasing desperation that the babies were crying, but not doing anything to change the situation, and thus, not going to the traps. Steve came, and said that he will go under the house to get them. He asked to be sure that the crying had decreased some, an indication that the babies were growing tired and weary. Indeed, the screaming had decreased in its duration, though not intensity... He donned his coverall, and went underneath.

We heard some thumping, lots of yelling from the babies (like screaming sheep...) and Steve came back with two babies.

After posing for photos, the raccoons got loaded into a container and we pronounced this house independent from the raccoons.

I never thought I would learn so much about raccoons. Not just from the internet, from friends (dear C once had mating raccoons on her rooftop!), and of course, our raccoon whisperer. If you live in our area, and you have a coon problem, let me know! I have the perfect guy for you.