What's a "cardigan possum"?

First things first, it should really be "cardigan opossum." But that would border on getting uppity, and the motto of any good 'possum is "don't get above your raisin'." (Non ut elevatio supra? Says Google Translate.)

The 'possum thing? It got its start when I was working as an archivist at the Colorado State Archives. See, I grew up in Kentucky, and I also happen to be fairly, ahem, goofy. One thing led to another, as it so often does, and all of a sudden, wham, I'm the official office 'possum, and we're having regularly-scheduled Cardigan Wednesdays so that we "look more like archivists."

Why a 'possum? Well, lots of reasons. First, they're easy to overlook. They're not particularly sexy. They are not the charismatic megafauna of, well, any ecosystem. 'Possums' have an image problem. But then, they do just kind of bumble along, doing the thankless parts of the job, staying in the shadows, eating the cat food if you aren't careful, hissing and playing dead rather than, you know, running lithely across the veld or fighting valiantly. Kind of endearing, really. Once you get past the hissing and the naked tail. They're just plain ol' 'possums, nothing to get worked up about, good or bad.

Artists' rendering of me as cardigan-clad 'possum.

And for what it's worth, even though I'm no longer with the Colorado State Archives, they do still have an office 'possum (stuffed), Eleanor, who hangs out at the front desk.

And there we have it. The blog name explained, and the first (and scariest) post hammered out, all in one.

Hello, world.