It was a year ago when I got the call up to the “Bigs”… a chance to write a regular column for this newspaper. It might not have seemed like a big deal to you, especially after you may have read some of my columns, but to me, I was as happy as an elephant with a peanut machine.

That’s not to say it’s easy to write this stuff. Ask any columnist, and they’ll tell you that the hardest part of writing is finding a topic. Sometimes I just sit in my upstairs office of the house, staring out the window, searching for something to write about.

I remember during one afternoon of window-watching, I saw some squirrels chasing each other in our backyard. Their cheerfully unconcerned cavorting reminded me of their unpredictable scurryings as they try to cross our streets. Thus was born the idea to write a column about how we might educate our furry nutkins in proper street safety tactics.