Our family has provided a home for a menagerie of oddball critters over the years.
We've had a pet Muscovey Goose, several squirrels, many raccoons and a skunk, not to mention a bunch of dogs and cats.
The skunk, aptly named "Phew" (pronounced P.U.), lived with us for 8 years. He was "adjusted" when he was a baby and had the run of the house. Over the years, I guess I developed somewhat of a rapport talking to him!
So, the night I landed my plane at Ramapo Airport was for me, a down-home experience. It was a beautiful, clear evening, lots of stars and a half moon. The airport was quiet. No wind was blowing and I was the only person there. I tied the airplane down and walked across the grass toward my car. I saw a skunk puttering across the grass, headed towards me. He was busy looking for bugs and worms and would stop occasionally munching some choice and obviously tasty morsel he caught in the grass.
I stopped and watched. He paid no attention to me at all. I slowly got down on my knees and waited.
He continued to come towards me. I laid down on my belly in the grass and started to talk to him in my best friend-of-skunks voice.
I said gently, "Hi, skunk!. I'm your friend. I won't hurt you. I've got a skunk just like you at home." He lifted his head and studied me from about 5 feet away. There was none of the body english that I knew so well from our friend Phew when he was annoyed.
I talked some more. "See, people aren't all bad. Do you want to be friends?" He waddled towards me. About a foot away, he looked me straight in the eye to see if I really was all right and "skunk friendly" starring for a couple of minutes.
Then he pounced on something in the grass, brought his head up munching a fresh delicacy, looked at me again (still chewing) and waddled away. I'm sure he had better things to do than talk to a strange person.
The expression on his face was, "It's funny how all people look alike!" Brief events can stick in your life forever.