Reptiles

Reptiles
Silly Grins

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Child Abuse and Animal Protection


Or Pest Control? 

Some people like cats. I don’t. But I don’t hate them either.  I don’t like them because I won’t let myself like them.  Though, they are actually great to have around and tend to do an excellent job at keeping the pests in check. Problem is that they tend to grow, grow on you to the point that it is hard not to get attached to them.  That story is long buried in the past, under a tree, nestled in a blanket of good memories…

Speaking of pests... you know, the menacing kind that take shape in the form of little boys, the kind who get a thrill out of teasing animals? Yeah, that’s what this probably-never-happened story is about.

Not too long ago, maybe even yesterday (and perhaps even told this morning), a cat-owned bachelor was sitting in his pad, when he heard the lure of what he took for a boy’s voice trying to attract who the neighbor thought was his feline.  Looking out through the screen door, our Southern-raised hero (hero of this tale) saw a suspicious brat leaning over with one arm stretched out and another behind his back. Behind the soon to become young man’s backside was an opened container of soft-drink, some kind of dark, liquid brand cola.

In a matter of moments, curiosity struck (but with a fair amount of mercy...this time). The cat was rained down upon by a sweet squall of carbonated blackness followed by high-pitched, almost juvenile, laughter.

Laughter? Really

Our single hero had witnessed something he really didn’t think was funny…at all. But, seeing how he had a sense of humor, he decided to roll with the theme, ride the wave.

Over yonder, there are such things called hurricanes. Over here, they are called typhoons. Either way, not too many people look forward to getting caught in the middle of one (though there are a few who flock to the resulting swells).

The sky was no longer clear and the sun was no longer shining. A dark cloud just bursting with irony was about to get the last thunderous laugh.

The now half-full pet bottle was going to give a little more. Though measured time would only be able to account for a matter of seconds and measured volume could easily be given in mere milliliters,
the length and magnitude of the downpour somehow managed to bridge the gap from boyhood to adolescence.

And there was a peaceful sense of calm after that storm. Yet, out on the horizon, there was a set approaching.

In what must have sounded like broken Japanese, the following exchange could have taken place, but only after the rest of the contents of the container were released upon the tormentor.

“This is interesting. Don’t you think?” said the curious foreigner.
Nothing but a stunned look from the boy.
“Isn’t this fun?” he continued in a stern, almost humorous, voice.
The boy straightened up, stood at attention, and gave a reply that more or less communicated that, “No, it isn’t fun. And yes…I got it…sir.” 
If the subtitles of life had space for parenthesis,  somewhere in there, the audience might have been able to find a 'thank you.'

Lesson learned?

Judging by the reaction…some would say so.

But while some would agree, others might ask: 
What about the kid…what if he ran home and told Mommy and Daddy that some scary foreigner took his half-empty beverage and dumped it all over his head?

The smiling bachelor’s response may have been something like, “I would have hoped so. Because that child would have probably forgotten to tell his folks about where the other half went. All over the trusting little creature I am quite fond of thinking of as MY CAT.” 

Summertime really must be the season for changes. 

Anyway…

6 comments:

  1. That coulda been different...
    Some people don't know how lucky they are.

    Life is fucked how a situation that was implied coulda been drilled in so deep that it would be a traumatic shaking inducing memory.....just luck. Life comes down to that sometimes.

    My favorite post thus far :)

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  2. Surprised and glad to hear that it is at least someone's favorite "Reptiles and Samurai" blog post at this point. Thank you.

    It's as genuine as if someone heard the story this morning and had some downtime and that's the way it came out, almost like it had to (and yes, the cat's flatmate did give the nod for the post).

    Blog #3 (written 2008ish), something about motivation, is the only one (so far) that hasn't been written since the first blog was posted. Almost like something hit a switch in the brain, turning the systems back on. And somehow, that's okay.

    I feel lucky every day. My only concern is that I'll somehow slip up and do something highly unintelligent, worthy of a Darwin Award, only to be the last to know (as the nature of the reward tends to dictate).

    That's life.

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  3. There is a comfort in the writing...hard to explain. Comfortable to read and not doing so by speaking to the lowest common denominators among us. Adult talk. For adults.

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  4. There is plenty of research that shows that areas with high incidences of animal abuse go hand in hand with high rates of human misery.
    I simply cannot stand it when people who purport to care about others think that improving animal welfare is a side issue. It really isn't. It's clear to me that if you teach every person to be kind, considerate and respectful to animals, including the non-cute kind, you will solve just about every human problem...
    Even in India, some folks put their hearts and souls into TNR (trap-neuter-return) programs; in India where children sleep in the street. Most people who are "animal people" will rail and say "what about the children?". They don't get it. One lady who was doing TNR in India explained that by the time she was ready to move to another city, after spending years neutering and caring for the local strays, making them friendly and healthy, her neighbours came up to her and asked her how they should care for them. Previously they had been known to kick stray cats and dogs around.
    I could go on and on...

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  5. Cats eat rats.
    Especially in the aftermath of a large disaster. Cats are a good way to keep pests in check, in my opinion.

    Cats...I do recall online chat about a 'cute' movie made in Japan about a kitten that did quite a bit of travel to get home. One of the scenes included a waterfall stunt where a number of kittens were used. Although the audience cried tears of joy at the screening of the film, no one seemed to care about the actual kittens that disappeared. This cultural bent on cuteness and longing for shallow nostalgia is something that I'm disturbed by from time to time.

    Yeah, it's a mess all right.

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  6. Yeah, that's twisted (the kitten film story) and so typical.

    Also, "Most people who are "animal people""= areN'T of course. I promised myself I'll never correct my typos with follow up comments. FAIL.

    I think I've caught up reading your blog. Catch you again soon!

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