Critter Crossing

Driving along Broadway at 9PM last night, I stopped at a red light a block before Oak, a seemingly routine pause at a pedestrian crossing. Everything was perfectly normal. A woman crossed the street. A man. A couple. The walk symbol switched to the flashing hand. A dog and their owner … oh, there's no owner. One second, that’s not a dog …

I turned to my friends “Hey guys, am I seeing things or is that a raccoon right there?”

I kid you not, a raccoon stopped at the corner, looked left, right, and then scampered across between the crosswalk lines as if it had been taught this by it's raccoon mom and dad. Silhouetted by the headlights of traffic, we watched it run to the other side and into the darkness as it headed up to VGH. Perhaps you had to be there, but we were totally amazed. For a brief moment it seemed almost human. How did it ever learn to cross the street!?

At least I have Russ and Graham as witnesses, so I know my eyes aren't just aging prematurely.