Opossum on the D Train

An opossum, I read, was recently found lounging underneath the seats of a subway car.

According to the New York Times (which is worth a look if only for the picture of the commuter opossum), the animal boarded a D train and caused a long early-morning delay while the train was evacuated and the opossum caught.

But it wasn't so easy. Police officers boarded the train "armed with heavy-duty gloves and a canvas bag" but reversed course when the opossum "bared its teeth and snarled."

City folk, obviously. I remember a time a few years back when my sister's husband grabbed an opossum by the tail in my parents' front yard. I think it was under a car. In any case, I have no doubt he could have gotten that opossum out of the train, and probably without the heavy-duty gloves and canvas bag.

I've seen many things on the subway and the platforms that I'd rather forget. A sewage backup. Guys taking a leak. Rats between the tracks, on the platform and, worst of all, on a step leading down to a station. Not once, however, have I seen a wild animal.

I take 10 to 15 trips on the subway every week, and mostly my commutes are filled only with people sleeping, reading and playing games on their phones. Feces, vomit and wild animals are the exception to the rule. Except rats. There are always rats.