Juliette the Groovy Hedgehog

 

Juliette the Groovy Hedgehog

Story 1

I know a character that is by far the most adventurous creature in the northern hemisphere.  Her name is Juliette Rose Marie.  She is a courageous hedgehog.  You ask, what makes her so brave?  Well for one thing, she lives in the city of Chatanooga TN.  That's right, a hedgehog living in a big city!   Juliette has made her home in a well-established neighborhood in one of the most up and coming cities in the state of Tennessee.  

In the morning she sits on the ledge of her window overlooking the longest pedestrian bridge in the United States and watches the men and women walking across the Walnut Street Bridge.  They are usually unaware of her observations.  She notices that most are in a world of their own, not paying any attention to the world around them.  They don't notice the water of the Tennessee River flowing underneath their feet.  They miss the sweet songs of the birds in Riverfront Park.  

One particular sunny morning, a very observant Juliette noticed a young girl slowly and clumsily making her way through the crowd.  She seemed upset maybe even confused as she bumped into the lady with the yellow suitcase and the man in the Tennessee Titan's sweatshirt.  Juliette decided to jump down and get a closer look.  Now a hedgehog scurrying down a fire escape is unusual for the busy folks of Chattanooga, so Juliette received a bit of attention as she made her way to the bench in front of Clumpies Ice Cream where the girl was now sitting and crying.  

The compassionate hedgehog is gifted with the ability to communicate with whomever she chooses.  Today she sits down close to the girl, but not too close, a hedgehog's spines are sharp and can hurt if they are touched.  Juliette is intuitive to the girl's pain and confusion.  Is the girl lost, or hurt, or even in danger?  How can Juliette find out?  Now I told you that Juliete is adventurous, so she decided to try to make the girl laugh by doing her favorite trick.  She looked into the girl's sad face and puckered up her little pink lips and blew her a kiss.  It worked.  The girl stopped crying and started laughing.  People stopped what they were doing and watched the witty little hedgehog blow kisses to them.  

Suddenly from across the bridge came a shout, "Caroline, where are you?"  The little girl jumped up and started running toward the voice.  Juliette turned and watched the little girl being picked up and hugged by a man in a gray suit.  Together they walked back across the blue bridge and out of her sight.  If Juliette had not be quick to respond to the turmoil she felt in the girl, this story might not have a happy ending, but because she is not only resourceful but practical as well the girl was returned to her family. 

Juliette looked around and noticed that the people were once again walking across the bridge with their own concerns weighing heavy on their minds. It's nearly lunch time she thought, I wonder if the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe is open yet.  They serve a delicious bar b que sandwich.  

Story 2

The Read House Hotel is a 17-minute walk from the Market Street Bridge, for human, but for a tiny hedgehog is takes all morning.  It was a gloomy day, so Juliette decided it was time to explore the 3rd floor.  Rumor has it that Room 311 is haunted.  The story says that in 1927 poor Annalisa Netherly was beheaded in the bathtub by her jealous lover. 

Juliette scampered up the service stairway to check things out.  Staying close to the wall she quickly made her way down the hall to the door at Room 311.  But how to get in?  Suddenly the door open and an elderly cleaning service employee came out.  She was carrying a tray and large paper bag.  Juliette slipped in unnoticed.  The first thing she saw was the beautiful decor.  The sitting room had a blue Victorian couch and chaise.  It looked fit for a queen.  But Juliete was not here to look at furniture, she was sniffing for the scent of danger and intrigue.  

She entered the bedroom which had more delicate pieces from the 1920's.  Her goal was the bathroom, of course.  That is where the murder happened after all. 

There was the bathtub!  She wondered if it was the same one where Annalisa blood was poured into.  Probably not.  Looking around she noticed that the floor was wet.  Why would the newly cleaned room have a wet floor?  Eyewitness accounts suggest that the lights flicker and the sound of running water can be heard.  

Suddenly she hears a voice from the bedroom.  She peeps out and sees the same employee leading a young man into the room.  Juliette listens as the woman tells the man to stay as quiet as possible if he wants to get off the streets for the night.  She hands him a big paper bag that has a clean change of clothes in it and sets down a tray with food on the nearby table.  After a quick hug she disappears out the door.  

Mystery solved.  The kind-hearted cleaning lady had been allowing homeless men and women to stay the night in Room 311 for years.  As Juliette tried to quietly leave the room the young man noticed her.  He kneeled down and offered her a bit of the sandwich from the tray.  Maybe she should stay for a while and keep him company.  He might get lonely in this big suite.  Maybe the generous lady would come back with more food.

https://www.thereadhousehotel.com/history/

Story 3

It was a sweltering hot day in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Juliette felt the need to get out of town for a breath of fresh air.  She started heading south and ended up at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.  It was a beautiful area overlooking the mountains and the city.

Juliette found a comfy spot under a bush next to the Andrew's Raiders Monument.  She was reading the inscription when she was interrupted by a gray squirrel.  The irate squirrel said, "That's a lie!''  "What is a lie," asked Juliette?  "The sign doesn't say that James Andrew received the Medal of Honor but I'm sure he did.  He was in charge of the raid that tore down the telegraph lines and wrecked the railroad tracks in the Civil War.  On April 12, 1862, he and his men boarded “The General,” a wood-burning locomotive, at Marietta, Georgia, while the passengers and conductor enjoyed breakfast.  The raiders took off in the engine, heading north, cutting telegraph lines and tearing up the rail tracks along their way.  The train’s conductor and others gave chase, commandeering two other trains as they encountered broken tracks.  When the raiders reached Ringgold, Georgia, 80 miles northwest of Marietta, they jumped from the train, scattering in the forest."

"Wow, you sure know alot about history," said Juliette.  "But I heard that James Andrew was a spy and that made him ineligible for a Medal of Honor.  He was captured and hanged in Atlanta.  I hear he was buried over in Section H."

The little gray squirrel looked at Juliete like she had 2 heads.  It began chattering, turning in circles, and swishing it's tail.  Juliette began to be concerned that the poor little thing was going to have a heart attack.  Then all of the sudden the squirrel stopped, took a deep breath, looked at Juliette, and said, "Ok then, what do you know about the German POWs over in Section R?"

For the rest of the day, the little gray squirrel and Juliette explored the cemetery, learning, listening and enjoying their time together.  

It was starting to get dark, so Juliette said goodbye to her new friend, Sydney.  She hopped aboard a sightseeing bus and was dropped off right in front of her home on Market Street.  It's nice to have a dependable bus system to count on in Chattanooga.