Editor's Note: This latest submission for the "Senior Class" column is from Jo Stewart of Solon Springs.
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I've added another book to my night stand appropriately titled, "Wake Up Laughing -- Offbeat Devotions for the Unconventional Woman." This paperback had worked itself up to the top of an ever growing stack of stuff on the floor of my bedroom closet.
I've always known God had a sense of humor or he wouldn't have created giraffes, zebras and me. I was reminded of the zebra part as I watched a red-bellied woodpecker attacking the sunflower seeds on my deck railing this morning. Peterson, in his "Field Guide to the Birds," describes him as "The only zebra-backed woodpecker with a red cap." Who names these critters? This bird hasn't a hint of red on his belly. I suppose God created the red-headed woodpecker first. I don't know. I wasn't there.
Observing nature makes me smile, sometimes laugh out loud -- the badger problem currently frustrating the homeowners of Solon Springs, for instance. When I moved to Wisconsin, I always wondered why the badger was chosen as the state's namesake. I'd only seen this ugly, ferocious looking animal in zoos. Only later did I find out the burrowing/mining connection.
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Now, it seems the badgers have moved from the country into our village. Someone in-the-know has identified the source of the large holes and the mounds of excavated dirt as the work of these mammals in search of food, primarily chipmunks.
Getting rid of badgers is quite another matter. I'm told they don't eat cats, so my pet, Blackie, should be safe. On the other hand, I'd say if the old adage, "looks can kill" is true, badgers may have a corner on the cat market as well.
My current problem is not badger holes, but the clutter that is piling up on my closet floors, and in boxes and baskets strewn around my house. This is my home, however. And when my time comes, and you can't locate me, just listen for the giggles and guffaws. That will be the sound of my spirit getting the last laugh on its way to the Promised Land.
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The "Senior Class" column is a forum open only to seniors who wish to share remembrances with other seniors and those who care about them. Send your submission to "The Senior Class," c/o Editorial Department, The Daily Telegram, 1226 Ogden Ave., Superior, WI 54880.
