POSSUM!!

Shortly after 1am now...just went for a quick walk through the hood. Delightful out...crisp, clear, mid 30s...kinda late October-ish. And there, creeping out of the alley of a house around the corner, right in my path, about 20 feet away, came what I first thought was a nice black pussycat. Kitty cat lingered, staring. THIS was no puttycat...it was a POSSUM!! YAY! I LOVE seeing possum...they're, to me, like some kind of urban wildlife (which, um, they ARE), making me think for a minute that i'm nestled in the woods, and not concrete Hudson County. And so the possum soon dove under a car. Then I saw a 2ND one! Could there be MORE, I prayed?! I went into the street, so as to avoid being cornered on a narrow sidewalk. The two possum soon emerged into the street and stopped, looking at me. I, too, stopped, from a relatively healthy distance, and proceeded to purr in my best kitty/doggy/now possum voice, "HELLLLLOOOOO there...how are YOUUUUUU....awwwwww, I seeeeeee you!"...and so forth. Perhaps rattled by my insane cooing, they raised their backs and scurried away to find more garbage to raid. I turned on my heel, smile on face, and resumed my leisurely 1am stroll, after quickly scanning the dark front porches for any signs of late night smokers who may have observed my nutty communing with nature. Rabid disease aside, they ARE cute motherfuckers. Reminds me of when I was playing manhunt as a 12-year-old, hiding in my grassy alley on the side of my house when a possum appeared on the fence. Like RIGHT next to me, though. Again, at first I thought it was a Kitty and was about to pet it, but soon made out the telltale white face. At that point, I froze and ever-so-slowly stepped away from what could have been a horrific neighborhood mauling. Then there's all the times Precious Baby Furball encountered a possum while taking a late night shit -- her piercing bark and growl waking all the neighbors as someone in my family invariably scream-whispered, "GINGER, get the hell in here!," while slamming our upper legs for emphasis. Later than sooner, Precious would relent and saunter inside. Ahhhh, NNJ possum memories. To think, an hour ago I had NOTHING to write about. My ponderous late night walks DO serve a greater purpose!