Cabin in the Pines

Driving home from church and town today, I came upon a young raccoon on the side of the road. Another family had stopped before me and were just getting out to see the furry, masked animal. It looked like he/she had been hurt. I made sure to mention to the young man not to touch the young raccoon for fear of him getting bit - just in case that the raccoon had rabies. I'm not sure whether he listened or not as I got back in my car and drove off. It did though bring back memories of long ago when my family came upon a dead raccoon at the beginning of our street in Pittsburgh (in Lincoln Place). My father said that he thought it was a female and a Mother at that (you could tell the Mom had been nursing young ones). He suggested to my brother and I that the young ones were probably nearby. Well, that was all you needed to tell a twelve year old or so and his young seven year old brother. We hustled back and found two young raccoons. I couldn't believe it. My father, who had spent a lot of time in the woods, let us keep "Nipper and Snipper" for a time. We had a great time with them too. But as they got bigger (and my father even built a really neat cage for them) the day came when my Father said it was time to leave them go. We ended up giving them to our Uncle and Aunt who owned a sporting goods store in East McKeesport. I don't really remember the details because a lot of water has gone over the dam since then, but those long ago memories brought back our 'Cabin in the Pines.' The Cabin my father and his friends built back in the early 40s before they went off to war. There were raccoons and deer and trout and stars at that Cabin. It was a summer mystical place. With fires and hot dogs and a creek. We were very lucky. You see those interactions with Mother Nature left a bit of a footprint on us. I'm not sure that many of my friends back then had the same opportunity although we were able to have some of the neighborhood kids enjoy our Cabin too. What I really wanted to say though is, after seeing that young raccoon and the boy together today, is that those interactions between Mother Nature and children are critical. Our educational system isn't worth the foundation it is built on if we do not place any importance on our children entering and understanding the biological world (i.e., the geographic world). I should mention that my Father passed away in that beautiful little Cabin forty years ago this fall. I'm sure that Ben's last statement was his last calling - to himself and each of us.