Quite the Life (and all in Times New Roman 10pt!)
Following up on last week’s closing line of “Actions speak louder than words”, we have an…umm…display.
Yeah, that’s right.
A display.
A display of…how to get things done.
I don’t often catch The Wild offering such demonstrations. I definitely don’t go looking for it.
And in some cases, being around when it occurs in The Wild can be downright dangerous.
But how dangerous can bunnies be?
And any who answer “None at all” have never ventured to Caerbannog
Ah, the young ones.
Still too new to be given names.
A young boy once asked me how I knew the names of the different wildlife in our yard.
“How did I learn your name?”
“I told you.”
“And so do they.”
“The animals tell you their names?”
“Yes, and then I have to translate them into English.”
“How come you have to translate them into English?”
“So we can understand them.”
“What do they speak if they don’t speak English?”
“Raccoons speak Haccoun, Opossum speak Pezami, Fox speak…”
And so it goes.
And it doesn’t really matter.
Actions speak louder than words, you know…
Meal time at Chez Carrabis.
The ways of The Wild delight and amuse.
Yes, we feed those in The Wild.
And why not?
The pleasure they provide, the sheer joy of sharing with the Old Ones gladdens my heart and lifts me in ways interactions with own species seldom does.
If ever does.
It’s not that I don’t like people.
I’ve often told friends “People are wonderful! Lightly salted they’re delicious.”
budda boom
A great joy for us is our yearly rendition of Raccoon kits.
This year has been no exception.
They run, they scamper, after a bit they recognize this Two-Legger has food and they run and scamper over my feet (be sure to wear thick sneakers or shoes. they’re apt to nibble randomly until they figure out what tastes good and what doesn’t.
I don’t).
Raccoon mothers quickly teach their offspring the joys of the baskets/trays we’ve placed on the trees.
It is a delight.
Keeping up my credos in cultural anthro/folklore/myth society, I note I anthropomorphize The Wild.
Well Excu-use me!
(extra points for any readers who know that reference)
Folklore and Myth anthropomorphize The Wild to teach lessons, offer morality plays, share spiritual meaning, et cetera.
It’s much safer to do so using The Old Ones than to blatantly attribute bad behaviors – idiocy, greed, malice, avarice, and so on – to the individuals still living and still in power.
Doing so often results in a shortened tenure upon the planet.
Interestingly, the only individual who could safely (okay, somewhat safely) get away with doing so is what many cultures recognize as the Sacred Clown.
The Sacred Clown’s primary role was to speak truth to power and they often did so with humor. Many of today’s comedians share that they told jokes as children because they rapidly learned the bullies couldn’t hit you if they were laughing hard.
Sacred Clowns exist throughout history. George Carlin was one. Mort Sahl was another. Down through time they were Jesters, circus performers, thespians, and interestingly they tended to be people either intentionally or by self-design on the outskirts of society.
Better to observe from such positions, don’t you think?
So here we have two Rabbits, perhaps once best of friends, now not talking to each other.
Who know who slighted who, either real or imaginary.
And as that’s an anthropomorphization, I suspect imaginary.
How about you? What do you think?