So This Squirrel Dropped Out Of The Sky

The ordinary days are defined by those during which the unusual happens. The unusual varies according to how you live, what you do on a regular basis, what is common.

For me, it is highly unusual (that is, once in a lifetime so far) for a squirrel to drop out of the sky and land at my feet. That sort of thing doesn’t happen; never did until this morning, as I crossed the courtyard in the school. It was a “huh??” moment, a full-stop, let’s check this out moment. A true “wtf” moment.

The sky it fell out of was a tree branch about twenty feet above me. Maybe fifteen at the very least. “Plop” went the critter, then it re-established its bearings and ran off into some brush. I looked up and there was another such up on the same branch, looking down; could have been just as surprised as I was.

Had I been just three feet further, I’d have been wearing a squirrel hat. Warm, yes; but its little claws would not have done my hairdo any good. As it was, two coeds started laughing at the sight of a squirrel plopping down out of nowhere and me with a surprised look on my face. You just don’t see this every day of the week.

We see squirrels climbing up trees, jumping across the courtyard from branch to branch and even crossing busy streets on electric, telephone or cable-tv wires. They do it with the greatest of ease. How this one managed to fall from a sturdy branch is beyond me. Unless the wife threw him out of the house, or something.