July 31, 2009
The Second Half
Skunks in hiding
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
It was a perfect Friday afternoon; warm sunshine, mild temperature and a soft breeze. We had something cooking on the grill and Jim was mowing the lawn before supper. As he turned the corner behind the garage, he spotted a small dark animal almost hidden in the weeds. Fortunately, he recognized the skunk in time to get away before anything regrettable happened. Like the cowards we are, we went indoors and turned on the air conditioner in case the skunk decided to investigate the front of the garage. We ventured out just long enough to bring in supper from the grill.
Of course, the skunk sent me to the Internet where I stumbled on a most unusual website called HowToGetRidofStuff.com. This site actually had several suggestions for making the back of our garage unattractive to skunks. Installing a bright light, clearing out underbrush, and buying some dried fox scent (yes, you can actually buy that) were possibilities. This site also had many other useful articles including ones on “How to Get Rid of Bad Karma,” “How to Get Rid of Gang Members” and “How to Get Rid of a Poor Memory.” I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one of those last three articles was of interest to us.
Who would have guessed that in the middle of our perfect afternoon something as volatile as a skunk lurked so close at hand? That’s just life. So many times we’ve congratulated ourselves on how well things are going only to discover, in spite of our best efforts, something unpleasant has been waiting just around the corner. Volunteers we counted on have last minute emergencies. A piece of equipment breaks down. A grown child calls with an urgent need. Health, which had been excellent, fails due to hidden problems that had been quietly developing for months or years. Something we meant to take care of has been forgotten until it’s too late to do anything about it. A family member, friend or co-worker brings us news we’d rather not hear. Usually, our first impulse is to try to figure out how the problem can be fixed.
As for the real skunk, we dealt with our unwelcome situation in the same way we often deal with things we would rather not face. We knew where the skunk was and we just decided not to go there. That’s sometimes the better choice in real life, too. After all, Proverbs 17:27 reminds us that backing away is often the best option. “One who spares words is knowledgeable; one who is cool in spirit has understanding.” A day or so later when Jim checked behind the garage, the skunk had disappeared without causing problems for anyone. In our efforts to deal with things we don’t want, the best choice may be to focus on the flowers, close the windows, have supper indoors and ignore the skunk that really isn’t bothering anyone in the weeds behind the garage.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.