Forbearance

 

August 18, 2022

The ending of yesterday was other than I anticipated. After I shooed mama away from the roof, I sat down in my study to write– and heard chittering in the attic. The raccoon babies were alive, and at the very spot inside where mama had been digging on the outside. I called C’s, but was frustrated with them, their having clearly not looked for the babies when they said they had. I crawled through the attic myself and rescued them– in a colander– and set them outside. What little bags of determination they were! Mama arrived in less than five minutes, hauled them off into the thicket. It’s the next morning, and some of the wonderment of the moment has worn off, but I was happy, unable to remember ever being allowed a mitzvah so pure. The message of the whole extended event was “wait for it,” and I knew it was, but my rebellious spirit is not a good waiter. Maybe I’ll be better now. When the C guy arrived he took photos of baby #2 and said, “You’re a wonderful soul, Mr Hopes.” I wondered if I were going to get the check back I wrote them for capturing the raccoons– which I ended up doing myself. 

Mistrust of professionals is part of the lesson learned here.Tree Man gave an estimate that included stump grinding. We decided not to bother grinding the stumps, but there was no reduction in the bill. I opted against pettiness. If I’d known that was just an open door I might have done differently. Ace Handyman delayed service for no good reason until the raccoons that had been scattered returned to the attic. David and Manuel pulled out all the drainage pipes for this and that in the basement, and simply cemented over them. C’s was happy to sell me $3300 worth of basement sealant, but never looked to see if they were sealing something inside. Becky from Animal Control did her best, but had too many things to do at the same time. C's, though they captured mama, misled me about the babies so they wouldn’t have to be bothered any more. I end up paying to fix mistakes or doing things myself. Too bad I’m not really good at anything, though I can deal with wild creatures in a a fairly efficient way. Repairs are not over yet. C's said it would spray disinfectant in the attic. I’m not even going to ask if that will ever happen. 

Note from Red Hen containing my certificate for the Eric Hoffer Award (Falls of the Wyona), which had been sent to them in May, 2020, and somehow got lost in, as they said, the Covid confusion. This joins my royalty check from 2020 which has also somehow never appeared. I keep telling people that forbearance is my defining quality.