"Suspense"

I’m slanted against “suspense” today because I stayed up late last night reading a suspense novel about twins, one good and one evil. People were killed, a mad race to the bank, betrayals -- the standard recipe for suspense novels. The book was slightly better than usual, but really wasn’t worth the sleep deprivation, and maybe I’m feeling a little cranky. Maybe I’ll talk about a different kind of suspense…

Last month I talked (here) about discovering a previously undiscovered fossil when I was a child. My friend Phil liked that post, and it dawned on me that since Phil is a scientist at a university, maybe he could get someone to identify an odd little skull I found by the river. I sent him photos, and he obligingly forwarded them to the biology department. I was in a happy state of anticipation until sometime later, Professor of Biology Don sent me this:

“Much of the skull is missing but a colleague and I agree that it is the skull of a raccoon.”

What?!! I had it firmly in my mind that I had discovered a prehistoric mutant rodent. Well, at least I would’ve been thrilled if it was a prehistoric mutant rodent. Raccoon?!! Professor of Biology Don must be seriously mistaken. I quickly Googled raccoon skulls to prove him wrong. Em. Hmmm. Oh all right. It’s a raccoon skull. Drat. That’s seriously disappointing. Who cares about raccoon skulls? Probably the only interesting thing about it at this point is the fact that the mice hadn’t eaten it. I thought I’d throw the skull away, but somehow my hand just wouldn’t do it. I wrapped it back up and put it tenderly in its box. Never let it be said that I’m unwilling to accept new knowledge. I thanked Don and Phil, and I am thankful to have one mystery set aside. Would’ve liked it more if wasn’t a varmint skull, but I bow to facts.

Even our disappointments can lead to new inspirations. I doodled raccoons while watching tv, and doodles turned into this Charley Harper-inspired critter. I admire Charley’s work, but it’s rather tough for me to pare things down to absolute essentials most of the time.

The suspense of discovering what the identity of the little skull is over, but I’m thinking maybe that anticipation was pleasant enough to look for something else to identify. There has to be more rock and skeleton oddities lying around in the woods…