174. Skunk Parade

This Okay listener introduces us to the one. The only. Skunk parade.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

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INTRO MUSIC 

 I’m Nora McInerny, and this is, it’s Going to Be Okay. A podcast that is the opposite of a Doom squirrel. A little okay. To start your day, each weekday we bring you an okay thing, or you bring one to us like today’s okay thing from a listener named Leslie Cohn.

Okay Listener: Sundays are not my favorite, so the little dog and I went outside to move through the late afternoon air. As May Gray and buddy June Gloom are upon us, we enjoy the overcast cool because we know what is coming soon. I need to get out of my busy mind tunnels so the little dog and I see which flowers are blooming and what new mushrooms have risen overnight on the lawns on our route.

Our soundtrack is, birds of the neighborhood and cars going too fast. There is also pedestrian foot traffic as we live near a once peaceful reservoir that over the years has become a destination for earthlings to convene. If you haven’t resided in or visited Los Angeles, it can be surprising that many neighborhoods have a high rate of wild mammals.

First sightings can be shocking. Coyote, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, and possum are all the norm. Coming home very late at night, one must be very careful, because what you think is an aww, little kitty, is definitely not. And then you’re both spooked, and you can either slowly back away from each other unscathed, or, yep.

So adorable, and so dangerous. We’ve had plenty of celebrity cameos at parties and outdoor summer movie screenings. Various wadlers and scurriers abound. One night, my husband opened the back door to take the little dog outside, and her low growl was immediate. Oooo. He scooped her up and looked across our tiny porch to the tree.

He called to me quietly to come see that the tree had become a clown car, with five raccoons piling out onto the back fence, then sauntering across the wall, onto the top of the carport, and into the neighbor’s yard. They were quite calm and collected, like children practicing the buddy system during a routine fire drill at school.

We were surprised and delighted, because it was a happening. Yet we know to give them their space, and let them complete their mission, before we proceed with ours. We all share a narrow space. Due to limitations, we had to choose personal safety over composting. Sorry, planet. One morning we found a raccoon handprint on the back door.

We never washed it away. I’m talking years. Had our building not been repainted last year, it would still be there. So Sunday, we hit the concrete to do a loop around the block. The little dog and I head to the north end of the block, and once we get past the houses she feels comfortable with, She likes to turn around and go back in the direction of home.

I say a few names of human neighbors that she likes, and most times that will propel her forward a few houses. As we come upon the promised names home, I see it. I see them. The little dog has seen them too. Out comes her low, ooooooooooooooo

evening marauders. They are between a short wall and the corner of the small white Spanish style house. Three have made a fluffy fence. They are facing us, tails up, terrifying and cute, cute and terrifying, skunks. The little dog and I have had close calls, including one encounter that did not end in our favor.

Our building’s shared rear walkway and garden area stunk for months. The scent clings for a really, really long time, even after multiple washings. Two years on, and sometimes I still think I smell skunk when I kiss the little dog’s tiny head. The scent remains in your brain and lingers on your clothes and skin longer than accidentally.

No offense to the wearers, but camps are evenly divided on that oily perfume, too. A few handy skunk facts for those not googling right now. Zero, their eyesight is generally poor. A, skunks can spray up to six times in succession, and then after that, it takes ten to fourteen days for them to refill. And two, the babies still have scent, although they don’t have shooting accuracy until about four months of age.

Just adding here, that these incredibly adorable threats are not going to readily divulge their weaponry stats. And nature doesn’t, and shouldn’t, have a QR code, folks. So back to the moment. I pick up the little dog and scan our location for a safe area. We don’t know their route, so we just have to guess.

Walk away slowly and confidently. We make it safely to the promised neighbor’s driveway. This allows for both a safe distance and a view. What we saw next, I can only describe. As a skunk parade, they wobbled and toddled into a communication circle before forming a line heading towards the street. Adults, teens, tinies, seven in all.

They poured around the edge of the garden wall and into the yard of the house next door. It is slow motion and very fast at the same time. I noticed pedestrians across the street stopping. It is truly an unexpected moment for those not living in these three houses that are entertained nightly. It is a wonder.

It is. And I’m not saying it is not. I just know the danger. After the last skunk turns the corner of the wall. I hear a girl’s voice beside me. That was incredible. I had no idea there were skunks in LA. And I have never been so close in real life. Other than at a zoo. Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. I turned. Her jaw had dropped and the expression of wonderment on her face made me smile.

She was lit with exhilaration, amusement, and remnants of fear. It was darling. We had all committed to the experience. I was at a safe enough distance to capture a portion of the parade on video, with zoom, and showed her. She was amazed again by the instant replay. I listened while she recapped her experience of the experience to me.

It happened. She saw it. I saw it. The little dog saw it. Memory stored. We all looked both ways and crossed the street. The gal went on her way. I finally released the little dog to the ground and we headed home. There was more joy than fear running through my mind tunnels, and that’s what helps to better a Sunday, or any day.

I am so happy to have in my imagination a skunk parade. What a joy. What a delight. Thank you, Leslie, for sharing this, actually very excellent thing with all of us. 

OUTRO MUSIC 

CREDITS