Sweet Tea: Great and small

I have a little jerk inside my head. Anyone else know what I mean? Call it a devil’s advocate (one of my least favorite phrases) or the result of too much time in rhetoric and journalism spaces where you’re constantly imaging different points of view.

Sometimes the little jerk inside my head will say something, something I don’t even believe, and I’ll have to stop and reprimand it.

Today, we have a few excellent animal stories. As I was reading them, the little jerk inside my head said, pompously, “Pshh. Seems like a lot of effort for a few animals.”

And??? Is not the care of animals one of our main duties as humans? Do they not deserve time, effort, funds and love?

Don’t listen to the little jerk.

TRASH PANDA PARADISE

A raccoon kit digs through water and mud at Woodside Wildlife Rescue in Pass Christian, Miss. (Sophie Bates/AP)

“Raccoon boot camp.” What a blessed series of words.

Baby raccoons often come to the Woodside Wildlife Rescue in Pass Christian, Mississippi. They’re usually traumatized, cranky and facing a hard future having been separated from their mothers in some tragic form or another.

And don’t forget, those little things have claws.

• Luckily, founder Paula Woodside knows a thing or two about discipline. A former U.S. merchant mariner, Woodside has created a “raccoon boot camp” program so dedicated rescue staff can teach raccoon kits survival by example.
• What exactly does “by example” mean? Well, they hide worms in the dirt, show the kits how to forage for food, mimic raccoon sounds and even have a survival course.
• They also learn how to swim — a critical skill in Mississippi, where hurricanes and flooding pose a danger to wildlife.
• The goal is to get the kits back in the Mississippi wild, doing what they do best: being little scamps.

🦝 READ MORE: Oh, there are graduation ceremonies, too

TACKLING TOUGH TOPICS

Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter wears lucky No. 7. (Vasha Hunt/AP)

As a Syracuse University graduate and football fan living in the South, I am heartily thankful I married into the SEC. My first visit to the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, that massive orange-and-white-checked cathedral to college football, was nothing short of a culture shift.

During this time of year, it’s always wonderful to see student athletes who use their privilege to make a difference.

Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter is partnering with his mother Sheteka Alexander’s nonprofit Girls in Real Life Situations to donate big bucks based on his performance.

• $500 for every sack
• $1,000 per interception or forced fumble
• $5,000 if he scores a defensive touchdown
• $427 for every tackle

That $427 figure is a nod to the cost of a flight he took early in the season that led to a one-game suspension by the NCAA.

The money he raises will go to area charities like Sisters Network Nashville, which helps pay medical bills for cancer patients.

It’s a cause close to Carter’s heart. His girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.

🏈 READ MORE: Carter says he wants to ‘put a smile on people’s faces’