Good Morning. Well now I can remember the girls having to have a teddy bear or some sort of stuffed animal to take to bed but these villagers in Calcutta, India, are just a bit weird. "We sleep with the snakes (meaning cobras), we eat with the snakes, we live with the snakes (but) we are not scared," said a 14-year-old girl in a village near Calcutta, India, to a Wall Street Journal reporter in November. Said a village leader, "Whenever I lie down in my bed, a cobra will just slide on top of me, without hurting me." In fact, more than 3,000 cobras live in one hamlet, mostly in peace, with few bite victims (though a cobra bite is often fatal because villagers initially trust the gods and spirit doctors to treat them). Cobras are so revered in the village that cobra bites are usually described as attacks by vipers or by "nonresident" cobras, based on a belief that local cobras are incapable of evil. [Wall Street Journal, 11-26-07] Sort of explains the mis-communication we often face when we dial tech-support and have a person of Indian descent on the other end…talk about frustration…
In other news… and this has to be the stupid leading the stupid into the fire. I do remember reading something about a Tiger attacking a Zoo patron and perhaps I now know why…In December, even after the widely reported tiger attack on a visitor at the San Francisco Zoo, the Houston Zoo was still allowing its visitors to play "tug of war" with its own lions and tigers. A 20-pound slab of meat, attached to a long rope, is tossed into the enclosure, and visitors are encouraged to toy with the cats by yanking on it as the animal lunges for it. Said a Houston zookeeper, the game keeps the animals from getting bored. Besides, a zoo official said, "(The lion or tiger) kind of lets us know when he wants to play, and we go along with that." [KVUE-TV (Austin), 1-9-08] You know. I fear anyone taking a bone away from a dog or a cat let alone the cat weighing in excess of 600 pounds. Do the Zoo Keepers get tested for senility? What on earth could be the draw to this Zoo, “ Come play with our Lions and Tigers and Bear…oh my!” Well that story doesn’t deserve anymore hype.
Finally a dog does the Heimlich Manure on his owner. It's the feel-good story of the day. Debbie Parkhurst couldn't breathe after a chunk of fruit became wedged in her windpipe. She then began beating her chest, which might have attracted Toby the dog's attention. "The next think I know, Toby’s up on his hind feet and he’s got his front paws on my shoulders. He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest." The apple was then dislodged. Do they have doggy CPR classes I don’t know about? Good thing the dog was there… a cat would be like… he dude when you’re done chewing on that can I have it? Cats are unpredictable and very cunning. I did hear a story of a couple New Yorker’s going at it literally having a knockdown drag out fight. Apparently the two got into it and the woman raced off in the car, well…not before the man jumped on the hood and hung on for dear life punching at her through her window. She sped off driving through a busy street and hitting other cars, deploying her airbag…When the car came to a stop she ripped the air bag out hit him with it and both were ticketed for reckless endangerment. Hmmm what ever happened to having a good old argument? Oh well, she could have thrown a Cobra at him… Such is life on this day, Tuesday the last in February 2008 so make it a good one.
A huge hug and many pats
Mart
