A Single Moment....

I don’t even know long we had been driving around; it seemed like hours yet like no time had passed at all. I think I could have been out there forever and it would feel like a single moment. We had seen many animals by this point.

We saw hippos competing for territory, facing each other, mouths wide open, although we couldn’t tell who won, a winner was declared and the loser left standing alone. Human emotion would have you feel sorry for the subordinate, that he was left standing there while the winning hippo tail-flicked his feces at him in declaration of victory. Honestly I just though he looked miffed.

We also saw a crocodile struggling to drag the carcass of a water buffalo down a small rapid. It was painstaking as he fought through the rocks to get to deeper water. Meanwhile we had two rather large, living water buffalo on either side of our vehicle.

Water buffalo are one of “Africa’s Big Five.” This means one Africa’s most dangerous animals. They are most feared by hunters for their courage when wounded. They will, continue fight rather than run. Also included in this group are the, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and the lion.

I remember when I saw my first wild lion. It was a whole pride with cubs. We were so close that we saw the cubs before any of the others. To me it was like seeing a movie star walking down the street. I had seen these animals so many times on TV that it became a surreal experience to see them in person. They were lounging around in the long grass, yawning to show off the pearly whites, almost looking bored. One female came up from behind and walked right into the middle of our circle of Land rovers. She took the time to study each vehicle as if to say “What are you looking at? I am much more interesting than that lazy pile.” Then she moseyed on through to find a comfortable spot in the shade of a dormant termite mound. That was the most activity we saw from the lions. They seem to while away the time through their lazy afternoons conserving energy for their evening hunt.

At one point we saw a Rhino. Our guide told us how rare it was. They hardly ever saw them on safari. I have to admit I felt privileged our Rhino demonstrated his amazing strength as he urinated right in front of us.

Throughout our stay we saw many wildebeests, zebras, ostriches, two species of giraffe and warthogs. The warthogs would high-tail it whenever we came near with their skinny tails straight as pencils in the air. I couldn’t help but laugh every time. We saw Topi, an African deer that always seemed to be posing for a picture in the sunset no matter when we saw it. Tommy Gazelles were everywhere with their little spiral horns. We even almost caught a cheetah on a hunt but he decided it wasn’t worth his energy, called it off and took a seat on a nearby termite mound. We saw almost every African creature I could hope to see except maybe the leopard, they were absent during our time there. My favorite creature of them all was the Elephant.

What a majestic being. To me elephants are mysterious and romantic. They seem to have an ancient wisdom hidden behind their eyes. They radiate peace and calm within a power that could crush in an instant. Our driver, a Kenyan who had been doing this for 20 years, told us that elephants will take a tusk from a fallen member of their herd with them and bury it. I have also seen on TV how they remember a spot on their journey where they had lost a loved one previously. They will take a moment to mourn and move on.

We came across many herds on our drives. Some herds allowed us to drive right through the middle and wouldn’t bat an eyelash. We could hear the huffing through their trunks and literally feel the swishing of their ears as we passed by. I imagined their leathery skin creaking like a new pair of shoes. Some would turn to us out of curiosity but forget about us the instant we passed. We petty humans were no more than a mild distraction on their journey to the next water hole. Other herds wouldn’t let us any where near them. It was amazing to watch them gather their young ones in the middle of the adults and turn away from us. They wouldn’t panic or stampede but they would set a steady pace to keep some distance between us and their babies. One or two would keep an eye on us and flash their ears out as a warning to stay away. You could read the personality of an entire herd by these actions. Some were more wary than others.

We had just crossed a extensive, rocky ditch with one barely passable trail through it. This would have been filled with water had it not been the dry season and the beginning of drought for Kenya. We could see them nearby. It was a mother, a teenager, and a baby little more than a few months old. Our driver parked us in between the elephants and the path. She saw us immediately. Even a novice, such as myself, with no more experience than a 19 inch TV screen can give, could tell that she was of the more wary variety.

She looked at us and ceased her chewing. She was considering what to do. We were looking back at her totally enthralled. Her ears went big in warning…we sat…she shook her massive head, further warning…we sat….she took a step towards us…still we sat…finally she trumpeted her challenge as she began a determined march in our direction, that, rather quickly, turned in to all out run! We yelled to the drive “she’s coming go!” Next thing we know our driver punches the gas as we are bouncing across the terrain towards our rut path with a five hundred ton elephant literally on our heels! Ok so she wasn’t five hundred tons but we felt like she could have been! When we hit the rut, cameras and bodies hit the floor of the vehicle. She was still following us for good measure but she had slowed down knowing we were no longer a threat, finally she turned back to her calves. We were giddy and exhilarated, not one moment did I feel fear, maybe shock, but never fear. Honestly, I think she knew we were bumpkins from Minnesota and gave us a show for a true African Safari experience.

I loved that moment! All the power of nature behind and still she chose to let us go. In her wisdom she knew we were not a true threat. As we headed back to the lodge we came across another threesome, same exact set up, a mother, teenager and young calf.

This family had a completely different feel to it. The mother barely acknowledged us. The teenager was very close and watched us with curiosity. The baby was hysterical. He put in mind of a young child. He was standing by his mother when he first saw us. His little ears got big, his little voice sounded his challenge and he came running at full speed. Then he would stop suddenly, turn and run back to hide behind his mom. Then he would peek out from behind and start the process all over again. His ears would get big and straight at us he would come only to stop and run back to mom. He did this two or three times before we continued on our way. Meanwhile mom just continued her grazing with perhaps a little laughter in her expression. You couldn’t help it. He was absolutely adorable.

It was an interesting experience. The different personalities of the elephants were so obvious. I feel privileged to have seen it first hand. I felt I could relate to these creatures from a completely different world than mine. Their personalities are every bit as unique as our own. They are an excellent argument for animals having emotions!

Centipede bugs are brown and prickly
Centipede bugs are always big
Centipede bugs are in my house
Centipede bugs always make me wig
Centipede bugs will always win
and send me straight to the loony bin.

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE

It started innocently at first. I just went out in the morning to read at the table in my back yard for a while as I had my coffee. It was a lovely sunny morning. I slept in kind of late. I was supposed to pick Jami up for a movie, but I had some time to relax. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I was in my coffee cup print, flannel pajama bottoms, a brown tank top, a worn out, stained, gray zip up sweatshirt, bright orange baseball cap partially hiding my greasy hair. I had grabbed my watch so I could watch the time as I had to be somewhere.

That morning I had made a particularly good pot of coffee and I was reading a really good book with my wonderful dog lying beside me. I have to admit I was focused only on the pleasure of the moment. I don’t even know how long it took or why out of the blue I realized it, with a start, a random thought in the middle of the chapter. Suddenly I leapt from my chair, dug fervently through all two of my pockets only to rediscover what I already knew. NO KEYS!!!!!

I live in a security building. Doors automatically lock behind you. So I immediately ran around to the front door and proceeded to ring the doorbells one by one. Then again…again….again..again.againagainagain….did I mention the pot of coffee on an empty stomach. Hmm, no one home.

So, being the quick minded person I am I went back to the back yard to stew. Alas what shall I do? It turns out that I live in a fairly well populated area with stores and stuff. So I figured I would use the phone at the bike shop next door. So I grabbed Abbey’s collar (as I had no leash, no phone and no money as well as no keys) and made my way from my yard across the small parking lot to the bike shop. Abbey is not a large dog but neither is she a convenient carrying size so when leading her by the collar I am uncomfortably hunched over. That was until she put on the breaks and refused to move another step. I was forced to carry her the rest of the way and struggled (no one came to help me) to open the door and stepped into the store with an oversized dog in my arms. I backed myself right out after I saw several faces staring at me with “looney-woman-comin’-through-everybody-run” looks mixed with pity.

I decided to try my luck next door at the record shop. I rarely see people in there. The young man took real pity on me and allowed us in to use the phone. I had to call work to get Jami’s number. In this day of cell phone memories I need no memory of my own. I finally had Jami on the phone and told her my plight and after several minutes of delightful laughter on her end she agreed to come rescue us. I just needed a place to be that has a bathroom until my building mates start getting home from work maybe around five.

Abbey and I returned to the back yard (which isn’t nearly as pleasant as it was earlier) to await Jami’s arrival. But what did we see as we came around the building? The Yard Guy! Like a bright shiny beacon in the middle of a dark storm. The Yard Guy would have the building owner’s number! Yay! We were saved; there was hope for a shower yet! Abbey and I ran over to welcome him to the yard. Well I wanted to welcome him Abbey pretended to want to tear him to pieces. He said he did have the landlord’s number as the landlord had just called him on his cell phone yesterday and he had his cell phone with him at the moment. Oh yes! “Ok” he says “I just have to figure out how to retrieve the number.” as he pulled out his older model cell phone. The kind that doesn’t tell you what the keys are for. After several minutes of deliberation and one phone call to his daughter (who gave him the phone) for instructions we were no closer to entry than before. We could not retrieve the number. Alas…But Wait! He said he could run home and get it off of his computer! He lived less than a block away! (He has a wonderful yard filled with bright flowers.)

Jami arrived at the front just as The Yard Guy was leaving by the alley. We put Abbey in Jami’s car so she no longer tried to eat The Yard Guy and I caught her up on the events since I spoke with her. Then we waited….and we waited…and we, oh here he came, paper in hand, he unnecessarily apologized for his slow computer. He breathlessly dialed the number and handed the phone to me. As I listened to the ringing I composed my message hoping he’d come let me in sooner than five. But he answered! This is good. I explained to him my predicament and he reminded me that there was a lock box on the front door, of course! All I needed was the code! I kept him on the phone while I punched in the code, before I knew it there was a key in my hand and I unlocked the door to my building! Yay! I thanked my landlord and The Yard Guy. Jami was allowed to return home until I picked her up in twenty minutes, we still had a movie to see. I did not get my shower until several hours later.

There were many heroes for me that day. The Record Store Guy, The Yard Guy, My Landlord, and Jami. I am grateful for all of them. But not the people in the bike shop. They were not my heroes.