This month Jonathan Weller continued in his series of articles in the Rat Creek Press on the history of the Alberta Avenue community. I was struck by the change of street names to numbers ( Rat Creek Press April 2013: 10) , and decided to have a bit of fun with the idea of Otter Street.

Otter Street

I slip quietly out of the Rat Creek

I am sleek, and furry and musky

It is night, but my eyes gleam red like lasers.

I am headed for 90th street, once Otter Street- named after me.

I scratch dirt into a pile, marking my place- my street

Then I stop and groom my beautiful fur ,

Dirty from an afternoon of sliding on the river’s muddy banks

Wheeee!

I stop, peering into the darkness, nose twitching, listening

Then a sound

Another otter.

We exchange an otter salutation

Standing together, glistening, shining in the moonlight.

This street- this Otter Street- this 90th Street

My home.

Here’s a link to Jonathan’s article. Enjoy!

http://www.ratcreek.org/2013.html