:: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 ::

Yesterday at work, we found a raccoon in our next door neighbors' Dumpster. Ever since I was a little kid, I've liked raccoons. I just always thought they looked cool. Of course, I don't think I've ever seen a real one except on the side of the road as roadkill. So it was really cool being able to see one up close. Of course, it was scared to death, huddled in the back corner of the Dumpster while all of us crowded around looking in at him and talking about how he got in there and whether or not he would (or could) get out on his own.

So we had all these different people discussing the best thing (if anything) to do with this raccoon, along with remarks about rabies and biting and how hungry he looked. None of us had any clue what to do. But one of the guys I work with went inside and came back out with a stepladder, which he put into the Dumpster. I told him there was no way that was going to work. The raccoon, obviosuly scared, and with all of us standing around the Dumpster scaring him more, was not going to risk trying to climb out, in the middle of the day, with all us humans around, if it could even figure out that was the point of the ladder.

The raccoon climbed out.

Less than 30 seconds after I dismissed my coworker's idea, that raccoon was up the ladder, over the side of the Dumpster, and headed for the woods. I was happy that the raccoon was safely out of the Dumpster, unharmed, and I felt like an idiot. Here my coworker was, "thinking outside the box" as they say, and there I was, essentially calling him a fool for trying an unorthodox idea, when I was really the fool.

This was just a raccoon in a Dumpster, but how many times has someone had an idea that would work, that could help people, that had some sort of value, but they never tried it because someone told them it wouldn't work? So I'm going to try and keep a more open mind, and try more "thinking outside the box" myself. There's enough crazy shit going on in this world right now....maybe a few unorthodox ideas would help, if only someone would get the chance to try them.

P.S. This is by no means some kind of tree-hugging animal lover blog, what with the geese and the raccoon stories. It just seems like wildlife is playing the most interesting parts in my life right now. And I do like animals and nature and all that, I just don't plan on devoting my whole blog to them...
Ramble, ramble, ramble....bye!

:: posted by Rob 6:02 AM [+] ::

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