Today I want to talk about why we shouldn't write people off.
But first I want to tell you about "Finnegan the Squirrel."
Not long ago my brother sent me a story about a woman named Debby Carlton, who took in a baby squirrel (i.e., Finnegan) and nursed him back to health, with plans to set him free so that he could join Elsa the Lioness and Willy the Whale in the wilds, where he'd probably get eaten or run over by a milk truck. But whatever. It's none of my beeswax.
ANYWAY. According to the story, Carlton's pregnant dog, Giselle, took a profoundly maternal interest in Finnegan, and the two of them started kicking back together in Giselle's dog basket. When the time came for Giselle to deliver, she dragged Finnegan's cage next to the basket, and several days later Carlton let the squirrel join the new puppies. Finnegan burrowed in and made himself right at home with Mama Giselle's blessing.
This behavior is documented with ACTUAL PHOTOS, which appear to be the real deal (I checked out the story on the Urban Myths Web site: www.Snopes.com). There's Finnegan drinking from a baby bottle! There's Giselle watching Finnegan drinking from a baby bottle! There's Finnegan and Giselle sitting together in a dog basket! There's Finnegan and Giselle and a pile of new puppies sitting together in a dog basket! There's Finnegan and Giselle and a pile of new puppies sitting together in a dog basket drinking from a baby bottle! (Kidding about the last one.)
This story pretty much blew my mind. After reading about Finnegan, I thought of all the squirrels I have known and realized that I don't know any. Not personally.
But over the years I have certainly WATCHED squirrels scamper up telephone poles and across telephone wires, trying to get away from dogs who look at any squirrel and automatically think "CHEW TOY." (AUTHOR'S NOTE: That is if the dogs speak English. If they speak Spanish they think "JUGUETE DE MASTICAR" or possibly "JOUJOU DE MACHER" if they speak French.)
Meanwhile, the dogs and the squirrels reach an impasse. The squirrels sit up there on the telephone pole, chattering angrily while trying not to get electrocuted. Meanwhile, the dogs below just wag their tails and lick their chops and say "Come to Mama."
Anyway, the point is that you don't expect dogs and squirrels to get along in much the same way you don't expect BYU and Utah fans to get along. So when you read about Finnegan and Giselle, you almost start thinking the Last Days are here when the lamb and the lion and the dog and the squirrel and the BYU fan and Utah fan will all lie down together in the same dog basket and be totally OK with it.
It's inspiring in a way — when animals surprise you by behaving much much MUCH better than they're supposed to. The same holds true for people, right?
The thing of it is that other people mostly DON'T surprise you. Mostly they do exactly what you expect them to, which is a good thing if the people in question are lovely human beings who take chicken soup to sick people and refill empty ice trays before putting them back in the freezer.
There are folks, however, who DON'T surprise you in bad ways. See that guy driving in the next lane over, for instance? Somehow you just KNOW he's planning to speed up, change lanes and cut you off AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE while talking on his cell phone!
People are just so predictable . . .
Except that sometimes that guy doesn't speed up. In fact, he slows down and falls in politely behind you and maybe even gives you a friendly little wave.
Sometimes people can be as surprising as squirrels and pregnant dogs.
And THAT'S why you shouldn't write them off.
E-mail: acannon@desnews.com