When I was young, our house had a long yard that stretched all the way back to a large field. Our friend was one of the neighbors in an adjacent property about halfway back our yard. For the most part, the neighbors let the children play in any yard, although some did not want us playing on their property. Being little misfits at times, one could hardly blame them. Most of the time, there was at least two of us that went outside to play, so either my brother or friend would join me.

One day, for whatever reason, it was just me outside running around by myself. I went all the way to the back of the yard, close to the field. There was a row of trees that went alongside the field into our neighbors’ yard. It was a sunny day like so many before and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was until I saw two large animals running in my direction from the tree line toward me. At first, I didn’t know what to make of it. I had seen groundhogs before but not like this; not like them.

These two evil beasts charged straight towards me, side by side, in attack formation. For a moment, I thought they would turn and run into the field. I did not have long to think, however, as they continued to make their way toward me. Abandoned by family and friend, I had to face these monsters alone. Momentarily facing them, I dug my feet firmly into the ground, and took off running. Not towards them of course; I was not stupid. I ran like the wind back toward the house.

When I first started running, I looked back one time and saw the two of them still chasing me. This encouraged me to run even faster. I glanced ahead upon a giant rock that stood between me and the house. As I was running, I never looked back again until I stood upon the rock. It was so large in size, even those hounds of evil couldn’t climb upon it. It was around five feet long and two to three feet in height. I finally looked back to see where they were. To my relief, they were nowhere in sight.

I never forgot that day. I was not bothered by a groundhog before, but after that happened, I never trusted them again. I felt totally threatened by them from that point forward. It is interesting how terrible things that happen to us can affect how we view certain people, places, or things. Anyhow, when I got older, I grew braver and began to chase them around the fields. It was a retaliation born out of fear and ignorance that all started with the two that chased me. Maybe they had rabies, which could have caused them to behave that way. Strangely, I never even got close to one again though, as all the other ground hogs wanted nothing to do with me. They were probably wondering what was wrong with the crazy idiot chasing them. Either way, all were being treated differently because I thought they all were out to get me. It turns out, it was just two bad ones. Luckily, it was a phase that didn’t last long, and we peacefully coexisted ever since.