While Calgary revels in the forthcoming Queers festival it really hit home when on saturday morning my host knocked on my bedroom door and said "better come he's come out!"

Well having known some of the family since the mid 1960's and the rest since marriage or birth I wondered who the queer? Certainly can't be any of the family must be a neighbour so I hurriedly dressed and arrived in the kitchen to be hastenly redivererted to the back yard.

Had the outing resulted in a death? an assault?

Well certainly an imprisionment as the newly acquired trap held firmly a captive native. He was intent on escaping what could be the death penalty in some countries.

It was I admit the first time I had beeen placed in a situation hovering over life or death for a transgressor so what decision would we make a peaceful death by drowning, certainly living in a suburian area not death by firing squad (probably no guns available anyway).

We ran the city, even the Muslim Mayor's office for advice they wiped their hands "not a city issue" until one suggested take him out of town and leave him on a roadside.

We decided to act alone well the two of us, we carefully covered the rear of a SUV so as not to leave evidence and the owner had located some place bags to either cover up or dispose of the body in a worse case scenior .

The who;e scene I tried to remain some what distanced from after being thrust the SUV keys and informed that ÿou will drive maybe 100kms into the bush.

The other gentleman did what he had to do with the plastic bags receiving some ïssues"in the meantime.

postscript-

The neighbourhood was shattered,gay Pride week was over but the smell in our area was supreme could it be a second black sheep in the family?

Sure enough the trap has done its job and a skunk was trapped.

Learning from our first attempt the trap was covered much more closely with black garbage bags and the rear of the car lined with plastic sheeting.

Of course the Nil Odor was now available and a couple of drops distributed in the car to maybe eliminate the still linguring odour from No 1.

Where to relocate? Was this one part of a family deserving to be released at the same location?

Or was this a stray taking advantage of a "Free territory"?

Well that;s not an issue for us to ponder over, we know there was a skunk whisper in Calgary. A quick phone call revealved he has gone back to his regular bus drivers job for the new school season.

We loaded up and having enjoyed the previous drive we headed back out into the same rural area and found a nice new home rangeland into which we carefully released Skunk No 2.