1.  After my close encounters with the local wild raccoons over the past few years, I’ve come to loathe these bandit-looking vermin; however, I felt sorry for what I assumed was one of our local furry scavengers last night when it apparently slipped between the two fences (about 5 inches wide) along my back yard dividing the property between me and my neighbor.  I heard a scuffle thinking my cat was defending her property, but then screams, weird animal noises, and yelling ensued with a lot of pounding and banging echoing through the 4:30 am silence.  I thought I’d have to call animal protective services when they opened in the morning (they’re actually closed on the weekend), to rescue the suffering animal, but fifteen minutes later I saw a nose pop up then disappear.  I was rooting for the suffering animal watching from my secure viewpoint out my bedroom window. Several attempts later a huge racoon climbed out, then to my surprise, two more quickly followed suit.  They were at least 40+ pounds each and they high-tailed it across  fences and roofs making additional racket along the way.  They’re usually pretty smart, so with any luck at all they won’t be returning any time soon!

Then of course there’s this:

2.  And just in case you missed it, Yep, that’s a raccoon riding an alligator. A man was watching alligators when his son accidentally startled an unseen raccoon who ran out onto the gator’s back, just long enough for the man to get this shot.  Pulitzer Prize winning shot?

I’ll be honest, I’m liking the critters just a smidgen more.

3.  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fuck I hate that lesson.
I really need to trust my gut more often.

4.  Somewhere along the same subject line, there are certain people out there, when they open their mouths, you expect not-so-bright things to escape from time to time. It’s the ones you thought were bright, smarter than your average bear and tolerant of others that really floor you when they say something bigoted; and the kicker is, they don’t even realize it.

Definition of a bigot: “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” (Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015)

5. I hadn’t followed the story of Tim Donaghy who went to prison for betting on games while working as an NBA referee; however, a recent headline caught my eye when it said he had joined a white power gang in prison.  “Former ref Tim Donaghy joined white power gang in prison.”  The article said he didn’t like his experience there and he was quoted as saying, “Too many criminals.”
Ya think?

6.  I am not the sum total of my experiences.  If I were I would be bat ass crazy.  Wait…

7.  I hope you won’t think less of me, but I was super jazzed to attend my neighbor’s memorial service recently.  I adored my neighbor because he was a lifelong Marine, and he was always there for you; an incredibly decent man with a life well lived.  We’d spend hours talking about basketball and his two grandchildren who played ball through high school, then college, and now the NBA (you know where I’m going with this, right?).  So I got to meet these fine outstanding basketball players, all 6’9″ of them, and even got a hug from one of them.  Aaron plays for Orlando Magic and Drew plays for the Delaware 87ers. I’m still grinning about this, and yes Dave Davis, you will definitely be missed. You rocked sir!

8.  I hit 1,000 followers on Twitter recently.  Yay!!!

9.  There were many aspects of working in radio that were either embarrassing, or difficult that put me outside my comfort zone.  But the one that always totally introverted me was when someone would ask me for my autograph.

10.  I bought a pair of those biker shorts, you know the kind that have extra padding in strategically placed sections?  I’ve never wanted to wear them because of vanity reasons (like I need extra padding, right?), but OMG, sweet!!

11.  The trick to getting a new set of pots and pans is to actually throw out the old ones.  This is a trick I have heard about, but not yet applied.

12.  From my Favorite Quotes File:  “There is nothing more dangerous than the conscience of a bigot.” – George Bernard Shaw

Thanks for your time!