I was relaxing on a balmy Saturday morning when my wife, Joan, came inside from our backyard garden. \u201cThere\u2019s another raccoon in the trap,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreedy critters,\u201d I grumbled. Raccoons are our chief competitors when it comes to plucking ripe tomatoes from the vine. They\u2019re so good at stealing the fruit before we can get to it that we finally resorted to using a live trap.<\/p>\n
So much for relaxing. \u201cI\u2019ll load him in the van, and we can let him out at the wildlife preserve,\u201d I said. I put him in the back, then threw in the long hook I\u2019d made out of an old metal coat hanger. It was perfect for keeping my hands safe from raccoon jaws when opening the trap door.<\/p>\n
Joan climbed into the passenger seat. On our way to the preserve, she said, \u201cLet\u2019s stop at the grocery store first. We need bread and milk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could get it on the way home,\u201d I said. It didn\u2019t make any sense to stop now with an irritated raccoon caged in back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Joan insisted. \u201cI can\u2019t explain it. But I just got this feeling we need to stop on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, honey,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
I parked at the store and we went inside. When we came out with our groceries, there was a woman standing with a full cart by the car next to us, looking agitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you help me?\u201d she asked. \u201cI locked my keys in my car. All my groceries are going to melt or spoil in this heat.\u201d She was at her wit\u2019s end. But what could I do? I\u2019m no locksmith or mechanic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I said. I was about to walk away when a sudden thought stopped me. Greedy critters<\/em>. I smiled. \u201cMa\u2019am, I think I have just the thing<\/p>\n I got the long hook out from the back of the van, threaded it between the woman\u2019s car window and the rubber molding, and with a little tug her lock popped right up.<\/p>\n At the nature preserve, Joan and I released our furry felon into the woods. Awed at the way a nuisance became something good, with a tiny nudge from the One who watches over all creatures, great and small.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was relaxing on a balmy Saturday morning when my wife, Joan, came inside from our backyard garden. \u201cThere\u2019s another raccoon in the trap,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d \u201cGreedy critters,\u201d I grumbled. Raccoons are our chief competitors when it comes to plucking ripe tomatoes from the vine. They\u2019re so good at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":26204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2182],"class_list":["post-15004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods-grace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n