The dishwasher was humming away as we settled in to the family room after dinner. It was summer and twilight had arrived. All was quiet, so we decided to read for a while. We both noticed the odd scratching sound at the same time. Olga assumed that she had locked our cat outside. The sound started and stopped, the repeated a few minutes later. She then decided to see if the cat was at the door to the garage.
I figured that we must have left the overhead door open when we got home from work. She proceeded to open the door to let the cat in. Right on the two steps leading to the inside door, standing on his back legs, was a white skunk with a black stripe on its back. Having the presence of mind, quickly realizing that this was not our kitty, she closed the door. I remembered that the overhead door was open so, perhaps with some encouragement, we could get him to exit, before leaving us a “reminder” of his presence. I opened the door a sliver to see if he was surprised by my wife’s intrusion and had left on his own. No such luck. I slowly and carefully closed the door to give myself some time to think of a strategy to rid ourselves of the unwanted visitor.
Being a guy and comfortable with my manhood, I did not feel it necessary to prove myself by playing the typical hero and confronting our little guest. I told my wife that I would bravely pound my fists on the door to the garage, thus striking fear into the animal who would then have no choice but to vacate the premises, in fear of my wrath. I proceeded to do so and thereby left no doubt in the skunk’s mind who was the more formidable adversary. After a few minutes, it was now time to see if he had cleared out before opening the inside door in order to press the switch that would close the overhead door and end our saga.
I had done my part so, naturally, I told Olga that it was her turn. I suggested that she would go outside through another exit and look into the open garage to verify that the skunk had left, being sure to look under the cars parked in the garage. She looked at me in amazement, as if I should be the one to go outside and look. I reassured her that the skunk was most likely gone anyway and someone had to look through the inside door to make sure he wasn’t lurking in some corner that might not be visible from the larger opening to the garage. I bravely volunteered to take on the more difficult task. So, she dutifully donned her open-healed clogs and looked for a weapon, in case something went awry.
Armed with a Whiffle Ball bat and a flashlight, she was ready to confront the enemy. Stealthily, she moved to the front of the garage. I opened inside door to do the more important part. As I waited for her to get in position, I spotted a pair of boots next to where I was standing. I watched my brave bride stoop down to look carefully under the cars for our pal. That’s when I decided to pick up one of the boots. I tossed the boot out into the driveway and shouted “What’s that?”. Well, a small scream ensued that could not have been heard for more than a block or two away. The flashlight flew through the night air and landed on the neighbor’s lawn. Olga and that Whiffle Ball bat had vanished, leaving only her shoes in front of the garage. Then, I saw her at the foot of our driveway about 100 feet away, laughing at the ordeal.
“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:10, 25
