Legend

Home Education Contact Us Shop CryptoStick Gallery

Once upon a time deep in the forests of North Carolina there lived an ordinary raccoon. He was friends with most of the other furry animals inhabiting that part of the forest, and even humans really did not bother him too much, he just had a hard time understanding them. They spoke in different languages, all sounding like a mass of cryptic noise to him. That lack of understanding made him feel vulnerable. In any case, he went about his business as quietly as possible.
Then one day he saw what looked like a large plume of smoke on the horizon off in the distance reaching high above the treetops. He stared at it for a long time, musing on how much it resembled the sort of smoke he saw drifting to the sky when the humans cooked outdoors. Then it hit him. The "smoke" could come from only one source he knew. Someone must be cooking BARBECUE!! Barbecue is a North Carolina tradition. All the humans liked it, and though it was not generally known, all the animals liked it too. If there was barbecue there were always lots of leftovers to eat. The little raccoon decided he would go off to find it.
He headed east towards the plume of vapor, and eventually came to a large body of water. The other side of the lake was the next county, and the raccoon had heard tales of it from the others in the woods. It was said to be a dangerous place, full of hurtling SUVs and more humans than he believed possible all in one place. Many humans had found prosperity there, and that meant plenty of food for raccoons with lots of trash cans to overturn. There on the opposite shore was also the source of the tall plume of "smoke" he had seen. He would have to cross the lake to get to it. The little raccoon looked across the wide water, and saw the highway bridge spanning it. He gathered up all his courage, and decided to go across. Still nervous as vehicles rushed beside him on the roadway he reached the end of the bridge and dove into the bushes as soon as he reached land, wanting to rest for a while to compose himself.
Scurrying through the underbrush, the little raccoon headed south along the eastern shore of the lake. The territory was strange, but somehow the courage did not leave him. After some hours, with stops for small snacks along the way, the raccoon came to a large structure. It was the source of the huge column of vapor he had been seeking, but it was not barbecue.
The structure was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was a large round tower with the billows of steam pouring into the sky above it, a collection of smaller structures, and a large building with a domed roof. He had found the nuclear generating plant, supplying electrical power to the surrounding area. He just gazed at it all for some long moments, and wondered what it all was.
Then the pangs of hunger began to take hold, and his attention span wavered. He also saw some storm clouds gathering and it would soon be raining. Knowing he had to find food he walked around a little, and suddenly caught a scent from somewhere off behind the dome-roofed building. He headed in that direction too see what it might be.
Behind the dome-roofed reactor building, but some distance away, the little raccoon spotted a large green object. It was not big enough to be a building, and did not have windows or a door like a building. The delightful aroma of food was definitely coming from it so he decided to investigate further. He walked around the object, and saw a ladder leaning on one side. Climbing the ladder he found the top of the object was open, and the whole thing was hollow.

CONTINUE...