NORWALK, Conn. – I read the article Wildlife Too Close for Comfort in Fairfield County by Richard Weizel. It took me down memory lane. It made me think.

I remember the first time I encountered a raccoon. I was away at an outdoor camp somewhere in the middle of Illinois. We were all warned not to have food in our cabins so we wouldn't attract raccoons. Someone didn't obey. A raccoon was spotted in a cabin. Someone screamed and all of us elementary school girls ran screaming from our cabins in the middle of the night.

I remember the first time I actually saw a raccoon. It ...