Kim is talking about the vermin in california, and their inability to deal with raccoons. Wait, I think I got that wrong…. No, nope, I got it just right.

it brings to mind a family friend, whose wife didn’t want him shooting raccoons, he was supposed to use “other” methods to get rid of them. He was able to trap and relocate a few, popped off a few when the wife was away, but one individual was determined and nasty,and kept getting into the garbage, despite bungee cords, heavy chains, etc.

So our friend, who I’ll call Chuck, waited for the raccoon.

Now these were the old galvanized cans. No, not the cans made out of galvanized steel, but all-steel cans, welded, fabricated, and then hot-dipped galvanized as a whole- the cans themselves must have weighed thirty pounds. You had to use a cart to get them up the driveway to the street.

So Chuck waits, and sees the raccoon hop up on one can, lift the lid of the adjacent can, and slip inside, the lid closing on him. Chuck has baited the can with some old eggs and freezer burned fish fillets. As soon as the lid drops, Chuck runs up, holds the lid down, and ties it secure with clothesline.

Then the fun begins. he rolls the can down the driveway. ( steep hill!) it hits the curb at the bottom and bounces across the street. he drags it on it’s side back up the hill. beats on it for ten minutes with a bat. Hands the bat to his 14 year old son, who takes a turn, with the exhuberance of youth. Duct tapes a random orbit sander to the lis and turns on the air, lets that vibrate it around for a couple minutes. Then carefully cuts the cord, and throws the can of the (20 foot) deck. The coon staggers out, lifts up on his haunches and sneers, fals over, and runs staggering away. We saw him again after that, but never again did he come near a garbage can.