My hometown of Richmond, Virginia has made national news for a couple of fun, feel-good stories. I thought I’d share both.

First, and more recently, a racoon stumbled into a local ABC (liquor) Store, and appeared to get loaded and then pass out in the bathroom. This news — probably in no small part due to the amazing photograph — actually made international news, as even the BBC got wind of it.

This quote really ticked me:

[Animal Control] Officer Martin said the animal had fallen through one of the ceiling tiles before going “on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything”.

#goals, amirite?

Anyway, this was lampooned on Saturday Night Live this past week:

Earlier this year, a tragedy happened. A local Lowe’s had a stray cat come into their store years ago, and took up residence. This happened years ago, and Francine the cat has become, to a degree, a bit of a local celebrity.

Tragedy struck a couple months back, however, when Francine went missing.

The story, at the time, was long and harrowing. The short-short is that she meandered onto an 18-wheeler that was returning to a shipping hub in neighboring North Carolina. After a surprisingly extensive search, Francine was eventually located, and returned home… to Lowe’s.

The story was covered on CBS Sunday Morning this week:

Richmond is a small city, and it’s rare anyone thinks about us at all. To have two national/international stories land in a week is quite unusual. I’m glad a little more attention is being paid to the place I call home. 😊