The visiting raccoon!

<CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-header.gif" border=0></CENTER> <BR><BR> <PRE><CENTER><H3> The following is a true story, not for the weak of heart! It's a true story, my story, as the "Great White Hunter," and my saga with a raccoon! <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="racs1.gif" border=0> <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-bar.gif" border=0></CENTER> <BR><BR> A few years ago (give or take, details and sizes seem to get shorter or longer, larger or smaller with time!) on a spring night, I the Great White Hunter, was awakened my by wife, at 2 A.M., it seems she'd heard noises in our living room (I am deaf, and therefore didn't hear it) she told me there was a "giant cat" sitting on the fireplace mantle, throwing and breaking vases! She had been "calm" and closed both of the doors to the living room. So I got out of bed, opened the door, at first I didn't see anything, the "cat" had moved from the mantle to the drapery rod, and it was not a cat, but rather a raccoon! <BR> So, dressed in my usual hunting apparel, (shortie pj's) and armed with the best of weapons, a broom and folding chair, I entered the room to do battle, closing the living room doors behind me to protect my wife. I also opened the front door in hopes that the raccoon would just sort of run out-it didn't. <BR> Thinking quickly, I turned over a few dining room chairs, thus making the room smaller (always thinking!) and I went after the killer racoon! We ran around the room for a good half hour, me yelling and trying to get her out of the door, and the raccoon scratching walls and doing a good job of tossing chairs herself! Finally in a last desperate lunge, I was able to shoe her out the door, and close it. <BR> Now if you think that is the end of the story-you're wrong! <BR> My wife had been hearing "chirping" sounds from our fireplace for a good week or better (even had our daughter listen-thanks for nothing Maire Kaye!) and had seen strange little foot prints in the basement. As no one noticed, we didn't know there was a thing to do. The morning after my safari, the chirping was again present in the fireplace, we called the animal center (the police won't come for wild animal problems) and a guy came armed to the teeth with real protective gear, reached into the fireplace, and lifted out a nest of little masked raccoons! The one in the house was their mama, she had built a nest in there. So the nest was placed out side on the ground by the fireplace, so the mama could pick up the scent. We had to burn in our fireplace to clean it. So all ended happy for my wife, the raccoons and me, the Great White Hunter! <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-bar.gif" border=0></CENTER> <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-book.gif" border=0></CENTER>  <center> <p> <a href="http://neptune.guestworld.lycos.com/wgb/wgbsign.dbm?owner=KingOfGolf"><IMG SRC="raccoon-sign.gif" border="0"></a><a href="http://neptune.guestworld.lycos.com/wgb/wgbview.dbm?owner=KingOfGolf"><IMG SRC="raccoon-view.gif" border="0"></A> </center>  <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-bar.gif" border=0></CENTER> <BR><BR> <IMG SRC="raccoon-button.gif" border=0>Here is a quick way to get around my pages-just click on the pages listed below:<IMG SRC="raccoon-button.gif" border=0> <BR> <CENTER><P><H3> <A HREF="golf.html">My Golf Page</A> / <A HREF="memorial.html">My Memorial to War Vets and Missing</A> <A HREF="MIA.html">My Adopted Vietnam MIA</A> / <A HREF="SoldiersXmas.html">A Soldier's Christmas</A> <A HREF="flag.html">The US Flag</A> / <A HREF="FathersDay.html">A Father's Day Gift from my Daughter</A> <A HREF=FathersDay2001.html">Father's Day2001</A> / <A HREF="webrings.html">Webrings I belong to</A> <A HREF="911.html">Remember 9/11</A> <BR><BR> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raccoon-bar.gif" border=0></CENTER> <BR><BR> <CENTER><A HREF="http://members.nbci.com/designsbysharry/backgrounds.html"><IMG SRC="raccoon-logo.gif" border=0></A></CENTER> </TABLE> </TR></TR></TD> </HTML>