Physicists and Procyonids

Here's an informal poll I'm starting:

What excites you more -- the proximity of a famous person, or the proximity of an animal you don't see every day? I'm thinking particularly of unexpected proximities.

As it happens, I got a taste of both yesterday evening. At a restaurant, my mom recognized an old acquaintance at the next table: Vera Rubin. If the name means nothing to you, feed it into Google. If only I'd done that before meeting her.

Later(?), as we were standing on the porch, Mom told me about Sarah's last phone call. She's gone back to counseling at our old camp, which she seems to enjoy only for social aspects. Her room is in a building that was slated for demolition, but they didn't build a replacement in time. The ceiling was missing a tile over her bed, and she decided to sleep with her feet at that end. In the middle of the night, she heard a scratching noise and sensed something furry at her feet. She kicked it across the room and didn't hear from it again that night, but she had little idea how to handle the situation, hence the call.

During this discussion, I noticed something gray moving on a nearby tree. Mom identified it as a raccoon. (Chirpasee, would you know anything about this?) We started moving around to get a better vantage point as it meandered. I hadn't realized quite how raccoons move or how long and slim their tails can be. Eventually it walked right across our porch and into the neighbors' yard. We made sure not to let Millie examine the scent just yet.

You know what? I think I'll bring glasses every time I leave the house now. I wouldn't have been sure it was a raccoon if it weren't for Mom.

Getting back to the poll, you can guess what my vote is. :)