A Squonk

The lyrics I quoted to Shawn in our last email exchange are from the song, "Any Major Dude" by Steely Dan

It was one of our favorite songs by one of our favorite bands and I knew that it would resonate with him.

As I read the full lyrics after Shawn's death I saw a reference to a "squonk" in the line...

"Have you ever seen a squonk's tears? Well, look at mine"


And, of course, I got to wondering, "What IS a squonk??"

It turns out...

"The Squonk is a legendary creature reputed to live in the Hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania.  Legends of squonks probably originated in the late nineteenth century, at the height of Pennsylvania's importance in the timber industry.
The legend holds that the creature's skin is ill-fitting, and covered with warts and other blemishes, and so it hides from plain sight and spends much of its time weeping.[2] Hunters who have attempted to catch squonks have found that the creature is capable of evading capture by dissolving completely into a pool of tears and bubbles when cornered. A certain J.P. Wentling is supposed to have coaxed one into a bag, which, while he was carrying it home, suddenly lightened. On inspection, he found that the bag contained only the liquid remains of the sad animal."

I think Shawn was a squonk.