Why won’t this opossum return my calls?
That was the question this weekend, as the clock hands spun. As messages went unanswered.
Punxsutawney Phil? Dover Doug? Never a problem.
Marmots are famously obliging when it comes to their responsibility to the press.
But it seems with just a little publicity, Ratatouille the Snowboarding Opossum is already getting too big for his britches. Or his designer board.
If you haven’t seen this sweater-clad marsupial — marauding his way down Liberty Mountain’s slopes and across the Internet — it’s probably only fair I give him a fair shake here.
After all, the little guy’s clearly doing something right, with 200,000-plus views on YouTube.
That’s not bad for a quadruped.
Ratatouille, in action on the slopes of Liberty Mountain in Carroll Valley.
Ratatouille’s minute-long video, uploaded to the Internet video site by the folks at Liberty Mountain Resort in Carroll Valley on Wednesday, opens on the pint-sized opossum sporting a tiny sweater and a season pass, primed to hit the slopes. The wind is in the pines behind him and he wiggles his prehensile tale. He seems to yawn.
Cut to that nocturnal notable, shredding the slopes. He sniffs with his little nose and holds tight with his clasping claws and at one point even seems to check out a female boarder, swooshing away in the other direction.
He poses for some face time with the camera, and then walks off the set.
That’s real cool and all, but why leave us with so many questions? Why act the rat?
I mean, come on.
How did you learn to snowboard, Ratatouille?
What’s with the questionable fashion choice? Do you like watersports, too?
And it’s daytime — aren’t you sleepy?
Nope. Nothing. Calls made; messages left. But no answers.
Yet for all the mystery, no one seemed particularly bothered.
Those tens of thousands of You Tube views came with comments like, “That’s one cool opossum,” and “Soooo cute.” And apparently, hysterics: “Watch him as he tears up the slopes… CANNOT BREATHE.”
A link to the video posted on The Evening Sun’s Facebook page brought more of the same.
“I wish all possums wore sweaters….they would look so much cuter,” one woman wrote.
Seriously, people?
The thing’s florescent yellow, for Pete’s sake.
Anyway, after all the hand wringing, I finally got an email from a Liberty Mountain official, which provided brief comment.
“What was just a bit of end of season fun has certainly gotten a lot of attention!” she wrote. “We are happy we have made so many people smile!”
Apparently, for now that will have to do. Liberty Mountain is closed for the season, and we’re not likely to get too many answers. Ratatouille can slalom off into the sunset — and presumably stay up all night, celebrating his success.
So be it. These are the days of instant Internet stardom, after all, for both man and beast.
And what can I say? The little guy is pretty cute, and why begrudge any well-mannered mammal his 15 minutes. Especially if he brings with him a little happiness.
So if you’re reading this, Ratatouille, I’m not really mad at you.
I’m just playing, opossum.