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Above and Beyond the Call of Duty



Occasionally a story comes along which makes me think of acts of bravery which go beyond normal expectations – acts which make me want to create a special award to individuals who have performed these deeds. For example, I would give the award to the first person who ever ate a raw oyster. Although oysters on the half shell are an accepted delicacy today, I eat them myself, I consider the first guy to try one to have been extremely brave (or extremely foolish).
I live in an area which is home to many skunks - you know - the black animal with a white stripe down its back and an extremely potent defensive weapon. I have always heard that if you pick a skunk up by its tail so that its front paws cannot press on the ground, it is unable to deploy its weaponry. Again, the first man to discover this procedure, assuming it’s true, would receive one of my awards. I think a fitting name for this award would be something like the “debravety”, or perhaps the “fooly.”
This morning’s newspaper had a story about a cop in Taylor, Illinois, who deserves my award. A young skunk got its head stuck in a yogurt container. The poor critter was running in circles, trying desperately to get the thing off its head, when a local officer, Merlin Taylor, came to its rescue.
When the skunk arrived at the perfect spot in the circumference of the its circular gyrations, the officer quickly grabbed the container, tossed it aside and wisely retreated some distance away before the animal could deploy its aromatic WMD.


Two thumbs up and a debravety award for this cop.
You can see this dramatic event at extreme bravery.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback or Kindle at Amazon.

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