There were adults roller-skating around the lake in my neighborhood. Adults on roller-skates are whimsical anyway, especially when they are wearing ear buds and wiggling their butts to music that is a mystery to those of us who watch their individual dance party. There were plenty of those folks today, but I saw a notable pair of adult men who looked pretty new to the art of skating, rolling about, stiff-kneed and with arms askew, wearing tails. Tails. Is this a thing? Is this a thing I have missed while wearing clothing like jeans and cotton t-shirts instead of animal parts? Regardless, these men each wore a particular animal tail: one was a fox tail roughly two feet long, the other was a much more subtle, gray raccoon tail. And what really made me gasp with gratitude for being present to witness such an event, was the moment in which the raccoon-tailed-fellow grabbed hold of the lustrous, red fox tail and let himself be pulled forward by the other skater. Behold! The glory of man fully alive.
The creaturely world caught my eye today, too. For example, as I write, there is a raccoon (not a man with a raccoon tail, a real Procycon Lotor, the genuine article) climbing a tree in the middle of the day, and scaring away the squirrels that usually practice jumping off of the porch eaves. I was startled by an unusual amount of movement in the pine branches to my right, and lo, I saw a black and white striped raccoon instead of a red squirrel. To make the surprise even better, the aforementioned critter just came to the stoop of my porch stairs and noticed my bundled figure typing away in my adirondack chair. I started at the sight of his bandit face, and he in turn jumped, turned 180 degrees , and did it all so quickly that I believe he knocked his head on the house. At least, that's what I attribute the "thump" to. What is a raccoon doing playing in the yard in the broad daylight? By what right did I get to see him? I am not sure to what I owe the honor, but I accept the gift with a smile.
And for my own creaturely delight today, I was able to run, walk and bike in the crisp air in the presence of a fellow human who fills me with pleasure by her simple and also miraculous existence-- why should I be able to love such a friend as her? Why do I find such joy in sharing myself and receiving from her own self, too? And as if the companionship were not extravagant enough, a small coffee shop was selling two scoops of gelato for the price of one, and giving away seasonal espresso drinks. Free coffee. Really, there was free coffee.
Sometimes the world is a kind place. Sometimes there is marscapone gelato and a free macchiato with honey and cardamom. Sometimes there are adults wearing tails, and curious raccoons.
You see why I might want to remember such a day, hm?
