Hedge hogs are fairly common throughout Pennsylvania and upstate New York. They are extremely docile, almost tame, and it is not unusual to have them living in your yard if you are near a wooded area. Yes, if you travel through western Pennsylvania in the summer time, they represent a good portion of the speed bumps on the highway, probably about a 50/50 split with the deer.

I spent a large portion of my youth on the Atlantic coast of Florida, and Armadillos were very common there. They are primarily nocturnal, and as such you could see them quite a bit back then in the less developed areas if you were out at night. Of course, keep in mind that I am talking about the mid to late '60's. My father and I spent a good deal of time camping back then. He was trying to make me more of a man I suppose, and enrolled me in the Cub Scouts and the Y Indian Guides as those were the "manly" organizations. The only good thing about it was that I built a love of camping, although I had trouble understanding why I had to do it with the boys, when I wanted to be with the girls.

Any way, I can remember the rest of the boys playing soccer using an Armadillo as a soccer ball. They kept calling me a sissy as I was the best soccer player out of the group, yet I had no desire to torment that poor little creature by kicking it all around. I remember cheering when it finally got kicked close enough to the underbrush and it uncurled and ran off into the night. Everyone else was either mad or disappointed as they had lost their toy, but I remember how happy I was that the poor little thing had escaped.

If only I knew back then just what I know now, or if only my parents had been progressive enough to wonder why their son wanted to spend all of his time with his sister and her friends, maybe I could saved myself four decades of wasted lifetime.

Dallas