Day 5 of the gnarliest cold Ive had in a very long time. I am miserable, but today I must leave the house because the older child has a doctors appointment that cannot be missed. I do not get very far. A few doors down, a woman flags me down. Can you please come help me? She says. I was running by. I think this man has had a heart attack. I pull over and there is a young man splayed on the sidewalk. I look at him closely and observe that he is breathing. I lean in closer. Hes breathing deeply. Snoring, even. And so I say to the young woman: I dont think hes had a heart attack. I think he may be asleep. Maybe that raccoon bit him, she says, and she points. And for the first time I notice a raccoon lurking, watching us. The raccoon does not seem rabid. He is calm, though he does appear a bit concerned. Every time one of us approaches the sleeping man, the raccoon saunters up, as if to make sure were on the up and up. I dont know, I say. I think that might be his friend. The driver of the city garbage truck pulls over and gets out. He walks up at the same time as an older gentleman, who has brought along a broom with a long handle. The man with the broom begins trying to shoo the raccoon away from the sleeping man. The raccoon does not appreciate this. He tries a different angle. And then another. He is not the sort to abandon his friend. The sleeping man stirs for a few seconds and moans. He makes some odd sounds and gestures. I wonder if hes having seizures. I dial 911, even though the jogging woman says she has already called. Hello, I say, I am calling about a man at xxx Las Casas. Oh yes, says the operator, we have a call in to both the ambulance and animal control. This is about the man who has been bitten by the raccoon, right? Yes, but no, no, I say, He has not been bitten. I think the raccoon is his friend. He seems to be guarding the mans body. Please tell animal control that the raccoon is his friend. I saw them earlier, walking down the street together, says a third man who has just walked up. Who? I ask. The man and the raccoon, says the newcomer. Im imagine the man and his friend, the raccoon, out for an early afternoon stroll on a sunny day. The sleeping man moans again. I hear the ambulance approaching. The raccoon stands next to the man with the broom, next to the driver of the city garbage truck, next to the blonde jogger who flagged me down, next to the guy who spotted them earlier. Like a mismatched cast of characters in a very bizarre play, I think. Just then my eyes begin to water again. Nose runs. Head pounds. Were going to be late for the doctors appointment. Okay, I say, Im going to move my car now. And I pull out right as the first ambulance pulls in.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 04:46:37 +0000
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