Jumping Jackets and Dead Rabbits

Every morning I drag Drew out of bed at 7am (and I do mean drag) and he walks me to work. It takes us about a half hour to wander over to campus through the little housing development next to our apartment complex. Drew brings his scooter and sometimes zooms ahead, especially when there is a bit of downhill to navigate. It is our special time to chat about nothing and everything, and some days the conversation is unique, other days ordinary.

Cloaked in the magic garb of morning, these little jaunts sometimes reward us with dazzling sunrise colors, unexpected glimpses of wildlife, and always glorious birdsong. Today we noticed how many little spiderwebs were outlined on the grass by the morning dew. As we walked along talking about this and that, I flipped my bag from one shoulder to the other to distribute the weight better, not paying much attention to the jacket draped across the top of my bag.


It wasn't until I got to the library that I noticed my jacket was no longer with my bag. I asked Drew to see if he could find it on his way home. He puttered on the computer for a few minutes, then headed back, retracing out path on the lookout for my black jacket. As he was passing Pearce Memorial Church, one of the women working in their summer camp program warned him that there was an almost dead bunny nearby that he should avoid as it was flopping about in the throes of death. I think it spooked Drew a bit.

He was almost home when he spotted something black on the ground near our building. He ambled over to the place, then reached down to pick it up when suddenly it jumped and yowled! Drew jumped back and screamed. What he thought was my jacket turned out to be a black cat who was just as surprised as Drew at the mixup.


Drew scrambled inside the house, his heart pounding. From his bedroom window, he spotted something else black on the ground. Cautiously, he went out and poked it with a stick. Sure enough, it was my jacket, safe and sound. He was kind enough to pick it up and bring it in the house for me. Thank goodness he was able to overcome dying rabbits and jumping jackets, and recover my jacket for wearing another day.