When Elephants Weep

    To switch it up for the start of the cold winter months. Lets talk about things that make me sad! (Don't worry, there's always a happy ending).

   I cry. A lot. To be honest, I love it. Whether its sobbing from some sad movie where the dog, father, mother, parakeet or all 4 die in a terrible tractor accident. Or happy crying where someone overcomes something and then a crowd of people inevitably give a standing ovation and send chills through my body. Or better yet, commercials. I'm that girl. I'm that girl and I own it.  

   I'm currently reading a book with the same title as this entry. At first I thought it was a bunch of stories about sad animals. But its actually really psychological and interesting. It all about why animals do what they do and act the way they act. With a few sad stories thrown in. What keeps getting me about the book is the sentences at the end of some of the chapters. They're little word daggers stabbing me in my heart. Ready? This one story is focusing on animal friendship. Specifically a brown lemur who gets separated from his fellow brown lemurs and sets up camp with some ring tailed lemurs. Saving the deets, these ring tailed punks only tolerate the brown guy, they are not outwardly nice to him. It goes on to say that the only lemurs that were nice to him were the juvenile ring tailed ones. "While his acceptance to the group was only partial, it clearly meant a great deal to him." WHAT?! way to make me picture this poor wide eyed sad lemur who is reminiscent of a middle schooler who's lunch table wont let her sit with them anymore. He would just be happy with a simple wave, pat on the back, or grooming perhaps. Christ. 

But just wait. We're moving on to the elephants now. If you want to make me cry, show me ANYTHING on elephants. It can be a sad documentary, a happy documentary, a Babar book, obviously Dumbo makes me weep and call my mom. The Baby Mine scene, depicted in my photo up there, shatters my universe every time I see it. Dumbo's mom is not a mad elephant! let her go you bastard humans! Can't you see the pain you are causing? After I watch that scene all I want is my mom to cradle me in her trunk. Or, arms. Whatever.

So anyway, my book just outlined an elephant who set out extra grain for a mouse everyday. HOW FUCKING CUTE IS THAT.  The documentaries on elephants are what rip me apart though. While I was in England struggling without TV, my dad would send me TiVo'd programs that he had transfered to dvd's for me. Thanks Dad! Mostly the usual things, Lost, The Office...but sometimes he would throw in shows or movies he thought I would like.  One day I start watching a national geographic "25 years of excellence" or something. Basically an hour long greatest hits. So after crazy once in a lifetime footage of the great cheetah/lizard war of 87'  and stuff like that, we get to Shirley the elephant. My. God.  

    Shirley was a circus elephant when she was young. Back when the circus was freak shows and black and white and grainy. Shirley got hurt somehow and was retired from the circus, she was then moved to a small zoo in lets say virginia or wisconsin or something. I forget. She was the only elephant there for 30 years. For literally all 30 of these years, she had the same keeper. He was this adorable old southern black man who cared deeply for Shirley. They clearly had a special bond. However Shirley had to be chained up pretty much every day because the zoo was so small she could easily like...break away or something. Her keeper hated to put the chain on her but would reward her with a bath and some apples. So the zoo finally realized that Shirley needed to be somewhere other than a small zoo, and arranged for her to be moved to an elephant sanctuary in sunny california. So cut to her keeper having to coax her into a big scary truck and have her traumatized by a bajillion hour drive. So then we get to the awesome like 300 acre sanctuary, and Shirley is put in a holding building so she can rest and eat and settle down and meet other elephants through some bars. Come to find out one of these other elephants was in the circus with Shirley 30 years ago AND THEY REMEMBER EACH OTHER. They are like fighting the bars so they can snuggle trunks, its the cutest fucking thing I have ever seen. So at this point I am openly sobbing. However the worst is yet to come. The sanctuary people tell Shirley's keeper that he can give her one last bath and then she'll be let out into the beautiful open land. So he's crying, I'm crying, everyone is crying, and he drops this bomb. "I don't know who the first person to put a chain on Shirley was. But I'm sure glad I'm the last person to take one off." SHIRLEY IS FREE! As I type, tears are trickling down my face. 

Now. Doesn't that feel great? If you're not crying, you are a robot that I must teach emotions too.  

So. Thats my sad blog. I hope you learned alot. Next post will be happy. I promise!