Chicago's Wild Life

Nation's #1 rat-infested city, Chicago, not even counting the Democrats. (Although the pic of the Mayor on Breitbart looks pretty rat-like.)

When we lived in Chicago, I visited neighborhoods where you'd see rats, but our neighborhood wasn't ratty. Living by the lake shore with its corridor for wandering wildlife could be interesting, though.

One day, our little daughter ran in, saying she'd seen a rat in the back yard, "this big" (hands more than a foot apart). When I asked if that included the tail, her hands went twice as wide. The janitor confirmed there was an opossum that had taken up residence under a stairway across the street.

One day I watched what I thought was a huge cat walk into the street, and sit up on its back haunches and look at me… with its shining eyes in its little bandit mask. Yup, a raccoon.

One day we had a squirrel get in the house. He kept flying at and smashing into the windows — all except the one I'd opened for his escape. He finally hit the exit, and, we're a half-flight up from the ground, the little guy just sailed out into space like Rocky. Wheeeeee.

For the bat, at least we had a butterfly net.

But no rats.