How would you like to look out your front window in the early morning (very early morning – around 2:30 a.m.) and see three elephants wandering around?It happened in Newmarket yesterday – a town just north of Toronto.
When I heard the story I’d just put the garbage out. It was fairly early – around 6:30. I wondered. If I had seen three elephants on my front lawn or on my street while doing the garbage chore, would I have thought I was hallucinating? Probably. And perhaps I would have given my head a shake and attempted to walk right through them on my way to the curb. At the very least, I might have tried to walk around them.
Seeing isn’t necessarily believing. (Especially when you’re not functioning on a good night’s sleep – and you know it.)
Elephants shouldn’t hang out in my neighbourhood – ipso facto – I might have dismissed their presence. To my regret.
On the other hand, the presence of such humongous visitors would have provided some comic relief. Not to mention an renewed appreciation for the simply amazing and wondrous events that can occur in life.
If you can’t imagine elephants hanging out on your front lawn, you’ve become just too damned complacent with life.
23 comments:
I loved that story too when I heard it on the news, did you hear the 911 tapes? They were hilarious....
It's a great story, but I hate to think of these beautiful creatures being in a circus. I hope they enjoyed their moment of freedom.
oreneta:
Didn't hear the tapes - I'll check them out.
rebecca:
For some strange reason, I actually love elephants. Even signed up for a "Bathe the Elephants" excursion on a business trip.
Watched a great show about a preserve in the U.S. where old circus and zoo elephants go to "retire."
That was an amazing story. And like Rebecca, I don't like the thought of elephants being in a circus. Elephants should be free to live their lives as they were mean to, not as some form of cheap entertainment for human beings. In fact, I'd like circuses to just come to an end, completely. They have outlived their glory days, much like the freak shows at Coney Island. Don't I sound like a grump?
I'm not too sure I'd like to see elephants on my property...I saw the film footage last night of one of the runaway elephants, and it was chewing a tree one someone's lawn! If I saw an elephant chewing my brand new tree, there would be hell to pay!
patricia:
Oh, you've become such a fussy house owner!
What's a few trees between friends?
To Patricia's comment: That's why I love Cirque du Soleil - they don't use any animals. And their global success proves you don't need them.
I totally wouldn't mind an elephant chomping on my tree. It needs to be trimmed. (I believe the waiting list with the City is two to three years).
If I saw elephants on my front lawn,..I'd just pop a couple more tylenol pm's and go back to bed....I obviously need the sleep!
Oh, and according to the news story, one of the elephants left a lovely gift on one of the lawns – now that's one poop and scoop I wouldn't want to deal with!
I agree with Rebecca. I should have said ban animals from the circus. ANd ban clowns, too. They creep me out. Cirque du Soleil just proves that you don't need animals at all to be successful.
It takes that long to trim a city tree in Toronto? Egads...
I've SERIOUSLY got to get to Canada! That just NEVER happens here! I want Elephants on my front lawn!!!
Incidentally, about the "not seeing things that aren't supposed to be there" type thing, check out a book called Mort by Terry Pratchett. Very funny...and directly linked to that idea. He's written over 30 books in the series...sorry, bit of a fan!
Ha! I came across the audio of the police radio - "no oot-standing elephants"
http://www.cfrb.com/media/554771/Escaped+Elephant+-+%22calling+all+cars%22+dispatch
Let me try that again
MP3 here
Every day I see elephants roaming my street. Does this not happen everywhere - LOL :-)
Elephants on my lawn would freak me out!
rececca:
Hence, the number of trees that fell in and around Toronto during those last two storms!
beth:
The "Beths" - both of us blaming such a vision on lack of sleep!
patricia:
Clowns freak me out, too. Another quirk. (Another similarity...)
Re: Toronto trees - see my 2nd comment above to Rebecca.)
all mod cons:
Yes, definitely add elephants on front lawns to your "Reason I Would Love to Go To Canada" list!
(I've noted the book...thanks.)
dj:
Thanks for providing the link to the 911 tapes.
And, hey - re: the "oot." Second time this week I've come across that. I simply don't get it. I swear I'm saying it correctly.
philip:
Good for you! (What are you taking???)
myutopia:
If they were really there....!!!
LOL! Some years ago, a neighbor woke up to a couple of Buffalo in her yard.
She called the police who asked her, "Are you sure they aren't llamas?" (there are a few llama farms in the area.)
"Of course", she replied. "I know what a &^%$%!! llama looks like!"
They didn't believe her. It took multiple calls from multiple neighbors to get the Dept. of Wildlife out here, and it took them two weeks to catch them and find out where they were from.
Apparently they escaped from a ranch and traveled through 50 miles of National forest to get to our area. Sheesh!
attila:
"Home, home on the range...
Where the llamas and the buffalo roam..."
What a funny story! Since moving out here to the country, I am never surprised at what I see walking around or peaking out at me through the woods. They are such beautiful creatures, after the initial shock, I think I would take in the wonder of it all. (once I knew I (and my family) was watching from a very safe place. Very cool. You just never know.
I saw that story on the news this morning.
Crazy!
Had I seen elephants in the front yard I would have wondered if the last of my sanity had packed it in and called it a day.
A couple of years ago I was on one of my early morning bike rides and saw not one, but four unsaddled, unaccompanied horses coming down the street. They had just escaped from a horse farm and the farmer was calling to me to help round them up. I tried...but oh god...I am not a big animal person and horses are BIG. I was literally shaking and was pretty much useless but I did manage to bike home and collapse.
You know what Beth darling?
Just last night, I opened my fridge and what the hell was back there behind the mayonnaise?
[I would not kid you].....
Not two, but FOUR giraffes.
Necks all shoved over over into the freezer department.
[Mind you, I had eaten some really rancid chicken legs about an hour earlier....]
I would have just assumed it was the Republicans trying to get me back in the fold.
eileen:
And that's the beauty of it - you just never know.
It would have been kind of neat.
trish:
That's you, Beth and I who would have questioned our sanity rather than accepting reality. Hmm.
cip:
“If Cip and Beth go out in the woods today
They're sure of a big surprise.
If they go out in the woods today
They’d better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, ‘cause
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic!
(And Cip and Beth can SEE them…)”
diesel:
But donkeys would be welcome, right?
How I'd react would probably depend on what the elephants were doing. Most likely I would freak out. Then I'd try to get them to charge at areas of the house I want fixed.
dorky dad:
So, first you'd freak and then you'd become brave enough to control the elephants...
But good idea as to getting house repairs paid for.
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