The American marsupial. What can you say?
It’s a animal that must have crossed a land bridge in the day of the Dinosaur.
Lived thru the huge die off. And created it’s own niche.
Yep, that alone garners some respect.
All the way up to the Beverly Hillbillies TV show, and Granny’s famous 'Possum and greens.
That alone really really helped Arkansans reputation as a hick state, live on. (right).
Well, all the rednecks, pregnant teens and bad schools didn’t help, either.
In my experience I’ve seen hundreds of them. Mostly dead on the road side.
Wait.
That’s not fair. If you have a lawn and the ability to have trash you’ve seen them as well.
Recently I’ve had one living by my burn barrel and under my deck.
I’ve named him Clarence.
Let me tell you about Clarence. He has a gimpy ear. Half his head is bald. His hair over his body is weird. It sticks up in odd places. Of course his tail is naked. It also has a crook in it.
He has the classic beady eyes and pointy teeth. His hiss is weak at best. My dogs just ignore him. The kennel dogs, who bark at leaves blowing by, pay no mind.
The weirdest thing is you’re liable to see him in the daytime and early evening.
'Possums are officially nocturnal. Not Clarence. He likes to sleep nights. I swear I can hear his hissy snoring if I’m on the deck at night. (Yeah, I often am, don’t ask).
Son-of-a-wrek sez, everytime he sees him, “that 'possum ain’t right.”
This is why he’s sneaking garbage. He’s too lazy to hunt bugs and frogs. The little jerk.
I put moth balls around the burn barrel and watched as he ate them. Didn’t see him for two days. Guess he got a tummy ache.
One afternoon Son-of-a-wrek picked him up by the tail and put him in a 5gal bucket and took him to the pond and sat him on the ground. It took 3days but he returned to the trash barrel. Son-of-a-wrek sez, “that 'possum ain’t right!”
So, to keep trash digging at bay I’ve taken to putting any foodstuffs on the ground for him to eat. This caused consternation among the young Mothers that frequent my house. He might bite a kid.
Oh, pahleese!, sez I. Clarence moves very slow. I swear he has a limp. A kid would have to lay down on the ground with garbage all around, themselves, wait and wait to get bitten by Clarence. And then it would be accidental.
Son-of-a-wrek again sez, " that 'possum ain’t right"
He’s right.
I was walking out in the lawn at dusk and nearly stepped on Clarence. He tried to make me think he was an armadillo and curled up and froze.
Oh, so that’s playing 'possum! Now I get it!
That 'possum ain’t right! Sez I.
