On the way back to town Monday morning after photo shoot for Catfish Alley, the following text beeped in:
Cousin. Do not know if it is an evil omen, but Harvey the groundhog who lived in the white house on southwest corner of Farmers’ Market lost to a pickup truck in the middle of the intersection. Bummer of a way to start the week. R u any good at eulogies for critters?
Taking the Main Street exit, I turned on Second Avenue and there, just as reported, in the middle of the intersection of Second and Second, lay the dead groundhog. I pulled over and got out. Not more than a minute later Michelle McDowell arrived with her 5-year-old son, Jack. Michelle, who once lived in the abovementioned white house, was distraught.
“Ahww,” she wailed. “They’re so neat. There used to be several of them that lived down here. They would play together. They don’t hurt anything.”
Michelle and Jack got out of the car for a closer look, and I took their picture.
Here’s hoping the groundhog’s demise was accidental, not intentional.
Editor’s note: Shortly after publication we were informed that Harvey was a nutria, not a groundhog. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.
Birney Imes III is the immediate past publisher of The Dispatch.
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