Jasmine on Squirrels
by Jasmine Chapgar
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Okay now that I'm here in collegeland, I've become interested in the neighbors I have much smaller than myself. For those of you that know me, no I still have not quite reached the five foot range yet. . . but despite this insignificant fact I still tower over my little neighbors. As you reach up to scratch your head, let me slap that hand away by telling you who they are -- squirrels! Squirrels everywhere! Scampering around with their furry cheeks stuffed with food, digging through the leaves and chattering through the trees. My dorm area is full of strange fruits for them to gorge themselves with. So as students walk by on the paths, these squirrels sit back on their little haunches and gulp down the fruit that looks like a cross between a tennis ball, a wormy apple and a bocci ball. As a matter of fact, these guys are so used to being around hurrying students all the time that they pay no attention to them; they've gotten rather blase about running from them. They don't really expect to be noticed. However, if a student walks right up to them, they will scurry a few feet away -- not a real run, but a half-hearted 'just in case' kind of run. And this is where my fun began. Darn it, if you're not going to let me come up and touch you, then be scared; don't just meander out of my reach! I was bigger than them, and they were going to be scared gosh darn it! If you're going to be afraid of me, you are going to be very afraid of me! I started stalking the squirrels. At first they didn't know what to make of it. They weren't sure if I was a threat or not. But I was determined to get these squirrels running.  The next time I walked to my dorm, I decided to go through the tree area where most of the these critters linger. Soon I saw a squirrel ahead of me. Raising my arms Batman style I rushed towards it. Startled out of its wits, his tail quivering, he dashed madly away. Aha! I thought. Power. I did variations of that to several more squirrels and each time received a bit of satisfaction from their startled behavior. Then I crossed the walk path once more. It was the corner of the woods where the bolder squirrels stood. I approached one who was standing quite still, looking at me, and I suddenly darted towards it. He (or she perhaps, but I'll say he for now) likewise darted to the right. I followed. He darted to the left. So did I. At this point most squirrels will hop onto a tree and disappear into the topmost part. This bugger did indeed jump onto a tree, but down near my ankle. He probably figured I'd lose interest and he would really need exercise if he just stayed there. Not likely! I ran around the tree. Around and around we went. Wee! Me and this squirrel going around the tree. Each time we made a complete circle he went a little higher. I was surprised at his determination not to climb all the way up, but I kept up the chase. Soon he was at the level of my chin on the tree, and I decided to do a trick move -- I changed directions. Wham! Screech. I stopped dead in my tracks and so did the squirrel as we met on the other side. We were eye to eye. I blinked. He blinked. Augh! Then we both backed up a little bit, regaining our composure. Not to lose the thrill of the race, I walked around again, and he relented and moved up the tree beyond my reach. Phew. I took that as my victory. A little dizzy from running around the tree so many times, I stuck to the path instead of the woods. When I passed a squirrel, I would motion towards them and give a little fake jump towards them so they would all dash away wildly. I guess word gets around fast.
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