Can’t you smell that smell

One thing nobody tells you about riding a bike to work is that skunks are a part of the experience.

Rather than being safely ensconced in the protective capsule of a car’s interior, you are out in the air. Skunk air.

Sometimes the smell left over from some hours-ago critter skirmish is so strong that you swear it is going to adhere to your apparel for the rest of the day.

When riding through a skunk belt, you just have to hope the eau de polecat will only last a block or so.

I don’t begrudge skunks their right to defend themselves, though. I just hope they remember I am not their enemy.

As for the cats slinking home after being sprayed, well, they’re on their own.