23.9.04


ahh... did i ever mention that i love donkeys? don't you just melt when you see that sad face? Posted by Hello

posted by lissablythe @ 4:23 a. m.   1 comments

1 Comments:

At 8:40 a. m., Anonymous Anónimo said...

It is remarkable how things skip generations. Mother Chamberlain was so fond of burros too. She always wanted to have one. Me, having ridden burros on several occasions, I have mixed sentiments.

When we lived at 43 Rochester in Constant Spring Eric Kates brought a burro to our house. I think it was his mother's. This was a great alternative to mowing the grass as llong as you kpet him tied and away form the flowers. BUrros eat just about anything--like a goat.

Anyway, Eric proposed I take a bare-back ride on the burro. I got on th e patient beast who was not inclined to clippity-clop and any kind of pace. Eric picked up a stick and began beating the animal who began trotting briskly. The fact is, I was lucky to have been able to sit on the animal. Learning how to sit on the animal did not come with steering lessons. (Incidentally, you sit back as far as you can near the hips. That part of the back has much less spinus process poking at your perineum.)

So here I was sitting way back on the burro, the borro moving at a fast clip heading straight for the barbed wire fence. At that point I learned that burros are very sure-footed and can brake on a dime. I also learned that the rider does not necessarily stop when the burro does. I visited the barbed wire. Eric collapsed with laughter. The whole incident made me less inclined to develop any warm feelings for burros.

A couple other things. Donkey is a derogatory name. It comes from the word "dung." It speaks to the colour of the animal. The original word is ass--which I think is much better.

I think of our Lord who rode on an ass. Think of it, he rode on an ass on which no other person had ever ridden. Jesus must have had a way with animals. Of course, he didn't ride bare-backed--thank goodness. He might not have been able to walk the via Dolorosa later that week had he done that.

Asses were the Volkswagen of the first century. Horse were like HUmmers--mostly for military use. The judges and kings of Israel and Judah did not ride on horses because that cut a too military posture. They rode asses or mules.

The other thing I have always found amusing about asses is the noise they make. When they are being used as pack animals, they let out a little grunt with each step. It is as if they will be beats of burden but they will verbalize their discontent.

DAD

 

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