By Ace Backwards When you live on the streets you gotta do a lot of improvising. Thinking on your feet (literally). Using your wits (what little you still have left after all the weird shit you've been through over the years). Case in point: I woke up this morning around 7, just as it was starting to get light. I slept in a doorway on the campus last night because a hard rain came down overnight. And now I want to pack up my campsite as quick as I can and get the hell out of there before anyone shows up. So I cram all my stuff into my big black garbage bag and head on out to the real world (so-called). A light rain is still falling as I make my way to my stash-spot nearby so I can stash my stuff. It's this great stash-spot -- this perfectly secluded spot behind these bushes -- and I've been stashing my stuff there for years. But as I pass by this grate that's nearby, I hear this clanking sound coming from the grate. I look down in the grate and it's this skunk who's been trapped under the grate (you can see his black-and-white outline in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo). This particular skunk has been around the area for years (I've had previous encounters with him, not always pleasant). And now here he is, trapped in the goddamn grate. I had heard the clanking sounds a couple days ago and wondered what it was. And now I know. The poor guy has been trapped in there for several days now. He's pacing back and forth furiously. And he's making this high-pitched, crying, EEEEE-ing sound that no doubt translates into English as "HELP ME!!!"
The whole area wreaks of skunk smell. And this complicates my situation on several levels. For one, I can't stash my stuff in the bushes nearby now because, a.) it'll get skunk smell all over it, and b.) sooner or later somebody working on the campus grounds-crew is gonna find out about the skunk, and in the process of snooping around they'll discover my stash-spot. And that'll be the end of my great stash-spot. So now, I gotta figure out on the fly where I can find a new stash-spot to stash my stuff. Which is no easy task at this point -- 7 in the morning, groggy, in the rain, and lugging a heavy garbage bag full of crap over my shoulder.... But that's life on the streets. You gotta figure this stuff out on the fly (or fail to do so). No matter how smooth of a set-up you may have, it can all fall apart on you in a blink of an eye. Plus I gotta figure out if there's any way I can save that poor skunk. The poor bastard. * * * Turns out there are TWO skunks trapped inside the grate. I'm gonna have to contact one of the campus maintenance workers. Or someone who works in the building nearby. Something I don't want to do (I go out if my way NOT to be noticed by these people usually). But that's what I gotta do. In the meantime I put a branch down into the grate for the skunks to climb out on. Does anyone know if skunks can climb on branches?? According to this, skunks CAN climb. But so far they're just sitting there. Maybe they can't figure out the concept?? I put a plank down in there. But that hasn't worked yet either... It could be they're too exhausted from spending several days down there to be able to climb out. I gotta go take care of some business. I'll come back in a couple hours to see if the skunks got out of there. * * * I just got back after taking care of a bunch of chores..... One of the skunks has climbed up on top of this blue bin. But I don't know why they don't climb up the plank I put in there... I threw in a bunch of granola bars (with almonds and cranberries) which should help them survive for awhile. It's about to get dark and all the maintenance workers are off dealing with the weird weather (we just got a barrage of hail come pelting down). .. So I'll come back tomorrow and see if they're still there. I tried to lift up the grate (it's got hinges on the one end) and it went up a little ways before it got stuck (it's heavy). So I figure I better not mess with it. The University has an in-house group that manages all the wild animals on their properties. I was busy dealing with the weather yesterday, I'll try to contact them today. * * * I went back to check on the skunks... It turns out one of them managed to escape by climbing up the plank. But he knocked the plank down into the grate in the process. So the other skunk is still stuck down there... Right now it's pouring. It just came blasting down out of nowhere. But as soon as it let's up I'll see what I can do about Pepé. * * * I managed to find one of the workers in the building and they're calling Animal Management to get the skunk out of there. Animal Management got the second skunk out. They used the same trick I used -- sticking a branch down in there. But the branch they used had thick leaves on it, which I guess made it easier for the skunk to climb on. That's why THEY'RE the professionals! * * * Walked by this afternoon, they had the grate pulled open and the Animal Management guys were fumigating the thing..... So, all's well that wells all. Or something... Yeah they had a miserable couple of days. But they're roaming freely again.
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