I mention in tonight’s radio show between 9 and 11pm that for some reason I’ve seen more squirrels this long weekend trying to make it across the streets of my neighborhood. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to hit the brakes to avoid an accident. It’s not just my neighborhood either. In all my travels over the past three days I’ve witnessed the same thing. No sooner do I begin to drive down a quiet residential street then I see squirrels racing from one side of the street to the other. They seem to be in a hurry to find food and get it buried for the winter. They don’t seem to be fooled by the warm weather. They know a change is on the way. They also know that even though the road is a dangerous place to be, they need to get to the other side.
It reminded me of this old story. It was told by Oscar Schisgall called “Once There Was A Squirrel,” published in the August 1941 issue of the Reader’s Digest magazine.
“I looked up and saw a squirrel jump from one high tree to another. He appeared to be aiming for a limb so far out of reach that the leap looked like suicide. He missed–but landed, safe and unconcerned, on a branch several feet lower. Then he climbed to his goal, and all was well.
“An old man sitting on the bench said, ‘Funny, I’ve seen hundreds of ‘em jump like that, especially when there are dogs around and they can’t come to the ground. A lot of ‘em miss, but I’ve never seen any hurt in trying.’ Then he chuckled. ‘I guess they’ve got to risk it if they don’t want to spend their lives in one tree.’
“I thought, ‘A squirrel takes a chance–have I less nerve than a squirrel?’
“Since then, whenever I have to choose between risking a new venture or hanging back, I hear the old man on the park bench saying, ‘They’ve got to risk it if they don’t want to spend their lives in one tree.’
“So I’ve jumped again and again. And in jumping I’ve learned why the squirrels so often do it: it’s fun.”
I can’t believe the squirrels think racing across the road in front of oncoming traffic is fun. They seem to be taking risks in order to prepare for the long cold winter ahead. I’m also reminded of this excerpt from the book “The Carousel” by Richard Paul Evans, author of “The Christmas Box” and “The Locket.” “The Carousel” was published in 2000 by Simon and Schuster. Its ISBN is 0-684-86891-1.
Evans writes, “We want to believe that we have control of our lives. But we don’t. We can’t even promise our time. The best we can promise is our hearts. And the most we can hope for is to live each moment as if it’s our last.”
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Don Jackson
Why doesn’t a squirrel cross the road? It is having too much fun making leaps of faith! And…
Why do the crows congregate in large numbers? Cause they know that the eagle is on the loose! And perhaps the Blue Herron, too.
Great show as usual, Don!!!
- Trinity