The Standoff

During my younger years, that young squirrel would not have had a chance. I don't eat squirrels, but I certainly would have put the fear of God in him. I'm older now, but I still relish the opportunity to chase squirrels every chance I get. On my master's property, there are no trees. But our neighbor across the street has a tall fruitless mulberry tree. One day I spotted a squirrel and could not resist the challenge. When he spotted me, he climbed higher up the tree and yelled out, "Catch me if you can, Old timer!" He further stated that his name was Mr. FMS. Later on, when he began to taunt me, he said that FMS stood for Fast Moving Squirrel. He was so rude as to never ask my name but assigned me a name of his own choosing. He yelled out and said, "By the way, your name is SMC for Slow Moving Cat". I tell you; he made my blood boil. So, I climbed about three feet up the tree and down I came. This cat/squirrel stand-off went on for about half an hour. I must have faked a climb at least three or four times. To make matters worse, and to put me to shame, that squirrel didn't even change limbs. He kept taunting me, knowing that I was 'over the hill' and never posed a threat. That squirrel was in his prime and lived free as a bird, never worrying about the likes of me. Like I said, after about half an hour, I gave up and headed home. As I slowly walked away, he kept taunting me, "Time for nap, nap time, time for nap". I said to myself, "Mr. so called FMS may be smart and agile, but it is very clear to me that no one ever taught him "paw-to-paw combat". 060722PSCtest, A BRIAN STRAND PREMIERE CHOICE, Brian Strand