"Wild Things" by Mick Scott
— We see each other as we are.
They weren’t “my” foxes. They were a novelty.
Winston-Salem-native Mick Scott worked in the Winston-Salem Journal’s editorial department for 20 years, the last five of those as editorial-page editor. During that time, he churned out thousands of editorials and opinion columns on tight deadline and received numerous first- and second-place awards from the N.C. Press Association. He is the author of Stardust and Scar Tissue: Rambles, Ruminations, and the Search for an Authentic Culture of Life, published in 2023 by Press53. Follow Mick’s current writing at mickscott.substack.com
Author’s Talk
Mick Scott with Victor in San Diego
To be a writer—to be any kind of artist—is to attempt to bring the reader’s focus to a topic, a person, a thing; to say, “Give me your attention and I’ll bring something to life for you.”
It’s a sort of magic. We witches gather ingredients—setting, cast of characters, action—and formulate an incantation—vocabulary, grammar, the number of syllables in a phrase—to cast a spell that will transport our marks to another place and time. We want them to see what we’ve seen; hear it, smell and taste it; feel what we felt and be transformed by it to a new understanding of reality.
Or maybe just give them a laugh.
There’s edification, education, and humor in the time I spend with my fox friends and the other wildlife that shows itself to patient observers. They’ve inspired me to stir my cauldron above the fire in my crystal cave and refine my alchemy in hopes of mesmerizing others. I want to give them, give you, a glimpse of their beauty, to see the need to protect these vulnerable beasts and the secret grottoes in which they hunt, play, and raise their families.
I’m grateful to be here among the other magicians.—Mick Scott
Blondie at Fox-a-lago in Winston-Salem
Mick sits still while Blondie calculates the risk/reward ratio for getting closer
