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Possum!

Murray Hill opossom; John Marshall Mantel for The New York TimesAn opossum struck fear into the heart of Murray Hill yesterday. No one knows exactly where it came from, but I’m amused by how confused everyone was by it.

For nearly eight hours, a quiet corner in Murray Hill was transformed into a kind of temporary zoo, as passers-by stopped to gawk and guess the identity of the long-snouted cat-size animal that paced along a narrow stone ledge about nine feet over a brownstone garden, sniffing, shaking and yawning.

I used to see these damn creatures all the time, but that was in Indiana. I drove home late one night and saw one in the garage, its long pink tail glistening in the headlights, its beady eyes blinking at me.

Discussion

7 Responses to “Possum!”

  1. I’m incredibly amused by this story.

    Posted by jenblossom | January 14, 2004, 1:14 pm
  2. They’re pretty prevalent in Tennessee, too. You can’t drive at night without getting some opossum in your tires–old or new.

    Posted by Craig Clarke | January 14, 2004, 3:17 pm
  3. I came home drunk one night and had a stand off with one in the parking lot. In my haze, I thought it was a pig. A small, angry pig. With pointy teeth.

    Posted by Kelly Sue DeConnick | January 14, 2004, 11:19 pm
  4. Strange what pugnacious blockheads they are. I mean, when I pulled into my driveway that night, the damn thing hissed at me. I, who had a ton of steel at my command, was being “threatened” by a one-pound rodent.

    I dated a girl once who rescued baby opossums and raised them to be pets. I should have dumped her the minute she told me.

    Posted by Michael Dietsch | January 15, 2004, 10:29 am
  5. That’s an exceedingly cute opossom. Are you sureeeee it is a opossum?! The ones back home in CT are normally ugly as sin.

    Posted by Merry | January 15, 2004, 6:36 pm
  6. Maybe it’s Hamtaro…

    Posted by jenblossom | January 15, 2004, 8:45 pm
  7. Don’t believe its lies.

    Posted by Dietsch | January 15, 2004, 10:14 pm

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