Letting Loose

I need a break from struggling through article writing. Editors are great when they know what they are talking about, but every once in a while, one pops up who seems to be drifting into the vast regions of Hilbert space. Having an editor who does things in a way that's different from everyone else makes writing these soul-sucking articles that much more of a challenge. 

The foot is recovering. It was a tad more painful than I expected, but I also wasn't given any narcotics to ease me into a different realm. I had to make do with over the counter generic pain pills. Other than my foot swelling and looking a little bit like an over-stuffed Weißwurst, there hasn't been a whole lot to report. I accidentally popped a scab near one of the stitches when I was rushing to take a shower before work after a hectic Sunday morning. My mom fractured her foot the day before but didn't know it, and I had to take her to urgent care the following morning. The two of us have matching limps now. I tried a jog Monday, but there's too much pressure on the stitching. I also seem to be getting a low-grade fever off and on with this. It shouldn't be too much longer before I can get back to at least jogging, but I have to wait until I can tie my shoe. Biking seems harmless. With the winds lately, I guess it's a good time to be indoors. Well, today I'm being a bum, because the fever is a bit more than I expected. I will be training again soon enough. Rough winter this year, damn.

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Recently, a couple of coyotes were shot, because one of them nipped in the general direction of a kid who was out playing near a creek in an open-space area. This seems wrong to me, mostly because it was on open space, not in the kid's back yard, though I can't say I would want any animal shot even if it ventured into a back yard. I'm not going to pretend I know what the perfect solution is to these kinds of situations, but people around here seem to be animal-rights activists only if the issue relates to their own dog that has a right to be off leash and jumping up on every living creature within three miles. Those who think otherwise are ANIMAL ABUSERS, but it's OK to shoot the dingo, right? It just seems weird that we expect wild animals to know that they should stay away from Pomeranian-sized snacks and avoid Hobbit-sized beings encroaching on their territory. 

Someone suggested beating the coyotes, and others suggested that carrying guns would solve the problem. Not to be condescending, but what kind of bizarre lesson is a beating supposed to teach the coyote? Let's see, days after the incident, round up all the coyotes in the area and, assuming the one that did the nipping is among them, give them all a good pummeling. That will teach 'em! The gun thing? "Oops, I thought your little Rusty was a bear. Sorry!" Yeah, that's a smart solution; just have everyone carry a gun on open space and shoot at anything rustling in the bushes. I'm thinking relocation of the animals when possible, wildlife education and posting warning signs about animal sighting might be better solution, but who wants to be reasonable when you have the opportunity kill or badly injure a coyote? 

I don't know. I guess I haven't changed my opinions much from when I was little and secretly hoped that Wile E would catch the roadrunner. I'm still rooting for the coyote. That doesn't mean I wanted the kid to get eaten, but I also don't like to know that two poor animals are dead because they did what was natural to them. Let's hope that the female they shot wasn't simply protecting her pups.