Thursday, November 12, 2009

Things I never noticed...

...at the local WalMart. Maybe that's because they weren't there previously. Maybe because I wasn't looking or, if looking, not pointed in the right direction. Whatever. So -- in the unlikely event that we ever get another rain here in droughty Prescott, a plastic bag specifically designed to cover our wet umbrellas. This I see as much an amenity for the store (no ruined merchandise) as for the customer.

And a totally local touch. Pretty high up, in the midstore entranceway. My question for all of you Prescottonians out there: how many of you have ever seen a badger in the wild? In the Prescott area? I've become convinced that it is a mythical critter, like the roc, though teams from around the country are often called The [xyz] Badgers and never The [xyz] Rocs. I wonder why?


Skulls & Other Links: Tucson has a mighty excellent Dia Los Muertes parade; Warren has covered it in three grand posts. Speaking of skeletons & skulls, are you familiar with the great skull out the Date Creek Road? I've known the skull for a long time, but the Goa entranceway lions were another matter; Anil introduced them in his most recent post from India.

17 comments:

Antipodean Curmudgeon said...

I can't understand why no high school, Uni, or pro franchise hasn't named their fiery team the DACHSHUNDS, afterall they were bred to take on Dachs(badgers).

Hermano

Warren said...

Thanks for the link to my blog and the kind words!

hmmm, as a PHS graduate I thought I should look up badger info... I've also never seen one.

But according to the AZ Game & Fish site, the badger is widely distributed across Arizona wherever suitable ground for burrows can be found. They say that back in the late 70's and early 80's more than 1000 badger pelts per year were taken, but that in recent years the take of pelts is insignificant.

So my best guess is that back when badgers were selected as team names it was back when there was a lot of human trapping interaction with these burrowing noctural animals and that the pelt hunters had some nasty first hand experiences with these animal's claws and such.

Now 30 to 40 years later people pretty much leave them alone, so we all say badger, what badger, and why would that little creature be a suitably fierce candidate for a team name? That's my take on it anyway...

Avus said...

Now all you need is a plastic bag to cover the plastic bag which covers the unbrella.
A friend worked in a motor accessory store. He always marvelled on the fact that he could sell a customer a smart, fashionable gear shift knob for his custom car and then sell him a smart leather cover for that knob!

Melanie A. said...

I'll sniff at that rendering of the badger. Even the one on my PHS varsity sweater is more true to life...though, I confess, I've only seen Az. badgers in Arizona Highways and the like.

But my candidate for weirdest high school mascot is the Kewpie Doll of Hickman High, Columbia, MO.

Granny J said...

bro -- actually, in this PC world, where far too many teams are having to give up time-honored names and/or mascots, there are just all kinds of animals begging to be in the limelight. How about a team called the ostriches or perhaps the lemurs or possibly the ferrets?

warren -- thank you for your research effort. I can understand why I've not seen a lion or bobcat, but the lowly badger???

avus -- in this dangerous world we live in, everything needs to be protected -- even an umbrella bag, as you suggest.

melanie -- the Kewpie Dolls -- that one is great.

Kathleen said...

Hi, Granny J,

When I was still leaving on Robinson Dr. in Prescott, a badger lived at the bottom of the hill. Ha a nice den entrance at the intersection of two roads.

It's been about five years, so I don't know if the burly critter still resides there.

Granny J said...

frame -- how often did you actually see said badger?

Kathleen said...

whoops - not, I (frame) in the above post GJ ~ The most I have seen is skunks - had a family of 13 under my shed and in the culvert in Chino Valley. Lucky me - made for stinky doggies =p

Perhaps we could send the pelt nabbers after some snipe - we might see the badgers then =D

Granny J said...

frame -- oops -- a new Kathleen! I would expect that out in Chino there ought to be badgers -- there's soil out there, unlike Prescott!

Kathleen said...

Yeah, soil - but not many trees and too many coyotes. I have never seen any out here in Paulden either. But with all the coyotes, there are no rabbits out here either - we did have those in Chino. Maybe they are hiding up in the hills?

スタービーチ said...

日本最大級の出会いコミュニティ「スタービーチ」で探しませんか。素敵な出会いを経験して理想の人と楽しい思い出を作りましょう

スタービーチ said...

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スタービーチ said...

日本最大級の出会いコミュニティ「スタービーチ」で探しませんか。素敵な出会いを経験して理想の人と楽しい思い出を作りましょう

モバゲー said...

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玉の輿度チェッカー said...

世の中手っ取り早く、簡単に金持ちに為ったもん勝ち!!そのためのツールが玉の輿度チェッカーです。心理カウンセラーを雇い、一人一人どうすれば人に好かれるか、最終的に結婚へのプロセスに持っていくかのアドバイスを期間限定で無料サービス中です。上手く玉の輿に乗っければ儲けもんです、一度試してみよう

モバゲー said...

ゲームよりも出会い目的でモバゲーが大人気です。無料期間中に遊んでみませんか

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