Blog Master G

I’ve loved squirrels for as long as I remember. They’re funny and cute and athletic. I love watching them sit on their haunches and chew their nuts. I love watching them go flying from tree to tree. And seeing them taunt my dogs as we walk around the neighborhood or hang out in the backyard.

So it wasn’t easy this morning finding a dead squirrel in the street outside my house.

Unlike other road kill that I’ll pass from time to time several blocks from my house, this squirrel was my responsibility; I had to take care of the carcass. The dead squirrel was surrounded by a bunch of fallen tree branches, so in lieu of giving the little guy a proper burial, I placed some tree branches on top of his body after scooping him into the garbage can. Up close, squirrels — or at least this one — are a heck of a lot bigger than you might think. Rest in peace, little dude.

This incident reminded me of the time a number of years ago in Sacramento at Nana‘s house when I got home from school one day and was looking for something to eat. I was rooting around in the freezer and found a paper bag on the bottom shelf of the freezer door. “What’s in here?” I wondered. Hopefully something tasty. I was starving. I removed the bag, peeked hopefully inside awaiting a tasty treat, and there it was: a dead rat. That was one of the few times I screamed like a girl (ladies, pardon the expression). It wasn’t a high-pitched scream or anything like that — more of a “Holy crap! There’s a dead rat in the freezer and not something I can eat!”

It turned out that Nana, bless her soul, had not wanted the dead rat, killed by her cat Abby, to rot or smell in the garbage can during the hot Sacramento summer. So she had bagged the critter, threw it in the freezer, and planned to throw it in the can on garbage day. But then she had forgotten about it. So the frozen rat was hanging out in the freezer longer than expected.

Last night Sarah, my Dad, and I enjoyed a rockin’ good time at the Saratoga County Chamber monthly mixer at the beautiful Saratoga National Golf Club. A highlight and big draw of the event is the $1 cocktail. I learned the hard way that Tanqueray and Sam Adams did not fall into the $1 category. I could’ve sworn that at the last mixer I attended all drinks were available at the bargain rate. You live and learn.