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From Boswell’s Life of Johnson (and used as an epigraph to Nabokov’s Pale Fire):
I recollect [Hodge the cat] one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson’s breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed [Hodge] was a fine cat, saying, “Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this;” and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, “but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed.”
This reminds me of the ludicrous account [Dr. Johnson] gave Mr. Langton, of the despicable state of a young gentleman of good family. “Sir, when I heard of him last, he was running about town shooting cats.” And then in a sort of kindly reverie, he bethought himself of his own favorite cat, and said, “But Hodge shan’t be shot: no, no, Hodge shall not be shot.”
My family’s pet rabbit has died peacefully of old age after a short decline phase of about a week. He was born sometime in 2004 and came to our house in the winter of 2005, so this was his dozenth spring in our backyard. And a lovely spring it has been, with much to nibble upon.
He was a very fine rabbit indeed, and lived a long life devoted to expressing his essential rabbitness.
Even in an enclosed backyard like ours, however, it’s difficult for a free range rabbit to survive to old age. In 2006 an enormous red-tailed hawk swooped down upon him as he took off for the bushes at 30 mph, inches ahead of the talons.
The red-tailed hawk remained a menacing presence in the neighborhood for years, until one day it was permanently driven off by a half-dozen diving crows, in a scene much like a bomber being harried by fighter planes.
My son read this afternoon over the fresh grave what Richard Adams wrote in Watership Down, his talking rabbit book that is one of the great works of imaginative literature to emerge from World War II combat:
“All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”
Our rabbit didn’t wait around. As I blogged four months later when I finally figured out what he’d been up to all winter:
As you may recall, last year some kind of giant vicious bird came within inches of catching our white rabbit Fred, who lives in the backyard. To my surprise, the most intelligent course of action in response to the death-from-above threat came from Fred, who set about industriously digging himself escape tunnels. According to Watership Down, the source of all my scientific knowledge about rabbits, bucks don’t dig burrows, they just wait around for pregnant does to do it for them. So, we were surprised to find two-foot high piles of dirt appearing in the backyard.
It looked like the prisoner of war camp in The Great Escape, except Fred didn’t bother with surreptitiously dribbling the dirt extracted from the tunnels out through the cuffs of his trousers, which he doesn’t wear anyway.
He wound up digging a 15-foot long tunnel under a concrete slab, which prevented cave-ins and kept his hole dry during the rain, with escape exits at each end. This is where he slept peacefully for the last nine years.
“My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.”
― Richard Adams, Watership Down
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Steve my condolences. What was the name of your rabbit?
condolences. had one of my free range rabbits killed by a mom mtn lion and her 3 hungry cubs back in ’90. looked out my window, saw the lion with my rabbit in her mouth. I banged on the window, startling her, ran outside with a baseball bat, but was too late, as the family of lions was hopping over our wall. Orange County animal control said they couldn’t remove the lions from the area until the cubs were older. rabbits were cool to have, so my sympathies.
A very fine rabbit indeed. May he have many carrots to munch on in bunny valhalla
Steve,
I always had a negative view of Watership Down, based on I don't know what from my childhood. But after reading the Wikipedia article on it, with its feminist criticisms, and the following, I am warming up to it...Replies: @Chrisnonymous
My condolences.
Sorry for your loss Steve, as the proud servant of handsome cat I have come to realize how attached you can get to these critters.
Frankly, I can empathize with this more than your Prince eulogy.
joeyjoejoe
I was wondering the same, until I reread the piece and realized that the answer lay nested in one of Steve’s nested quotes:
Steve, I am sorry for your loss.
Prince, Chyna, and Steve’s rabbit – we have our threesome. Condolences.
Twelve Years a Rabbit – A lifetime of rabbitry, for sure. Good Fred, adieu.
I’m sorry for your loss, Steve.
Pet animals affect us more than we might think. I remember when John Derbyshire wrote about the death of his dog, Boris.
Nay! Only the great carnivorous Lepus shall enter the hallowed halls of Valhalla, there to drink the blood of men or the mead of honey, as shall be his fancy…
Steve,
I always had a negative view of Watership Down, based on I don’t know what from my childhood. But after reading the Wikipedia article on it, with its feminist criticisms, and the following, I am warming up to it…
Sincere Condolences, Steve.
It says something about a man when he respects animals, cares for them — without being a namby pamby SJW vegan type.
May Fred rest peacefully in a heaven filled with carrots and comfort, forever free from hawks.
Fred the Rabbit, RIP
My condolences to you and yours, Steve
Do you know what all the white clouds of heaven are made of? Obviously not water vapor. No, it’s soft bunny-rabbit tails, tesseract-tunneling into the space under the sandaled feet of seraphs, from the parallel heaven of God’s infinite bunny-pen.
Steve,
I always had a negative view of Watership Down, based on I don't know what from my childhood. But after reading the Wikipedia article on it, with its feminist criticisms, and the following, I am warming up to it...Replies: @Chrisnonymous
By the way, speaking of rabbits in great literature, here is another masterpiece that usually doesn’t get it’s due…
Well, Petronius might have had her serve carrots or “Easter eggs” with the stew, and an updated edition might have suggested a South African Pinotage, but you can’t fault her prose…
Bowie, Prince – and now Fred the Very Fine Rabbit. Condolences to you and your family.
(For some reason there are fewer wild rabbits in our garden than there used to be in Spring. Mixymatosis (?) still seems to flare up, or perhaps it’s the very wet winters we’ve had lately in the UK. Ten years back I could look out of the window and see half a dozen, now not one.)
Condolences, Steve.
In my neighborhood there lived, for a year or so, a feral white and black rabbit, whom I saw when walking my dogs late at night. I saw it interacting with the local cottontails, and once (if I am not mistaken) I spotted a cottontail with white patches, and thought of Jack London’s Buck.
R.I.P. Rabbits, dogs, cats, guinea pigs. It’s tough to lose a pet, any pet.
Condolences Steve. It’s tough when you lose a family member. And Fred the Very Fine Rabbit was indeed very much a member of the Sailer family.
Godspeed, Fred.
I am sorry for your loss Steve.
Obviously he was smart enough to build his defensive bunker, but I am interested in your thoughts. How would you have compared his intelligence and personality to that of a dog or cat?
I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. I hope your family, especially your children, are not too upset.
My condolences. A handsome tribute indeed.
awww. =( my condolences. r.i.p. fred.
An English philosopher friend of mine dropped by his departmental offices one day some years ago. This was at a university in Texas where he was working at the time, pre-tenure.
He was getting coffee or whatever when the only colleague he really liked in the whole philosophy department walked into the room, clearly distraught. (The colleague in question, a native Texan philosopher of religion, would answer whenever asked what sort of Christian he was: “Fundamentalist.”)
My friend asked him what was wrong. “I had to shoot my cat this morning. I’m really bummed out about it,” he said.
“Oh, I’m very sorry,” my friend said. “I suppose the cat was suffering from some illness?”
The Texan said, “No, he kept pissing on my couch.”
Anyway, I’m sorry about your rabbit.
Rest in Peace Fred Rabbit; he seemed to have picked up the Sailer knack for industriousness and resourcefulness..
The Mower by Philip Larkin
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
12 years is a very good run for a rabbit. You both got lucky!
It’s a bit strange that you don’t have a dog. (At least, it’s my impression that you don’t).
My condolences, Steve. It’s always sad to lose a beloved pet.
OT: I’d hate to meet the rabbit that dug this tunnel.
Condolences to Steve Sailer and his family.
Our cat lived with us 18 years and died 4 years ago.
She was not especially smart, and was moderately friendly, but we liked her.
.
Ours — had enjoyed.
Awww…condolences to you and your family. It is sooo hard to lose a loving, innocent pet, even if they died of old age – your daily routine is just not the same….and discarding the feeding bowls & baby’s sleepy-sleepy bed is just rough. Those glossy big eyes will remain in your memory forever. I keep all my dogs’ ashes with me now, including the latest, to go with me to Valhalla one day.
Pity we ordinary Americans are increasingly deprived of the wherewithal to dig tunnels to flee the Invade The World / Import The World / Section 8 / Deferred Action Dreamer Assault predations of our Dear Rulers and their GATT-Globalist Donor Lords of Greed.
Metaphor for the behemoth Imperial Nanny State:
“One pill makes you larger and
one pill makes you small,
and the ones that mother gives you
don’t do anything at all.” – Jefferson Airplane, “White Rabbit”
Let’s hope one of Fred Rabbit’s American-born offspring will come to inhabit the warren of “You didn’t build that” bunkers that Fred dug. If a rabbit wearing a keffiyeh or MS-13 tattoos, or clutching an H-1B visa turns up, well, let’s hope Americans will have proven themselves smart enough to have elected Mr. Trump President.
OT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html
Looks like a lot of Fishtowners (leftmost quartile of the Bell Curve) are terminating themselves. Darwin’s “Elimination of the Weakest” ?
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/434465/suicide-rate-soars-americans-lose-hope
It starts from 3:50. Although watch a bit before to get the joke.
Condolences Steve.
I am trying to lead a virtuous life so that I can go to Heaven and see Widget, Daisy, and Dexter. We can all go for a walk together.
Condolences, Steve. Your rabbit’s death saddens me m0re than Prince’s, that’s for sure. We have guinea pigs, so I understand the appeal and connection of rodent pets.
A fine remembrance. My condolences.
I figured your rabbit was an inside-outside rabbit. Cool that he was an outside rabbit that you fed and he/she nibbled some of the grass for food too. Smart tunneling rabbit who knew how to evade predators. I never read the book but I liked the Watership Down movie. How English does a book like that get!
Fred.
I’m sorry for your loss, Steve
Sorry about your rabbit. I’m sure you gave him a joyful life and loving home. Sidenote: Your title and picture gave me a real start! The eye goes straight to RIP and then the image of you.
A lovely tribute. Animals enrich our lives.
My condolences.
I have three dogs and a cat, all of whom have a combined age approaching 60. There are gonna be some sad times ahead at our place before very long (in truth, they’ve already begun, for there used to be two cats).
Sorry for the loss Steve. It is poignant the way we develop a bond with our little furry companions.
Years ago John Derbyshire, who as we know is a real softy at heart, wrote a touching poem In Hilbertiam upon the passing of the family hamster, even though the little guy was only around for a couple of years.
Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. I was just thinking about your rabbit the other day. It sounds like he had a good, long life. I’ve enjoyed reading about him. My thoughts are with you and your family.
P.S. He was a good-looking, little rabbit.
In London, England it is impossible to bury a rabbit in the back yard.
Foxes – which are absolutely ubiquitous in London, right from Charing Cross to Epsom, will dig it up and eat it the very next night.
Once on an early-morning walk I witnessed the demise of a rabbit at the hands (actually the beak and claws) of a hawk. The rabbit was obviously a very-recently-released pet, all white fur and pink eyes with no instinct for safety. How fortunate your family was spared that. RIP Fred.
A lovely tribute indeed. Condolences
I once saw a red tail hawk with a rabbit in its talons right in my suburban backyard. It was a wild rabbit, of which we have quite a few, so I was willing to let nature take its course. I was actually kind of hoping to see the hawk fly away with the rabbit. But my son decided he wanted to get in close for a picture and this scared the hawk into leaving the bunny behind – it hopped away so it must have been OK.
Seeing the hawk up close, it was an impressive and big bird, with a 4 foot wingspan. After it took off again it did that circling at high altitude things that hawks do and every bird in the vicinity took off and wheeled in the air above it – I guess hawks are mostly dive bombers so if you can get above the diving trajectory you are safer. There were dozens of birds orbiting the hawk and putting out distress calls – it was quite a sight.
Very impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3kHMHZw_nc
But one day a large raptor came into the back yard and took it. It yelped miserably, until the hawk killed it.
I would have thought that I would be glad, but I wasn't. Indeed, I decided the dog, a cur though he be, had to be avenged. My mother was upset, but I went to the pound and adopted a similar, unattractive small dog and brought him home. I figured the bird would be back.
Since the statue of limitations is probably out now I can tell you what happened, but any really decent person can guess. I took my dad's old 303 Lee Enfield and figured Mr. Hawk would be back.
It was a federal offense, and I knew it, but I shot that hawk and threw him in a bag and in the dumpster. I never did get bothered.
First Chyna, then Prince, then Steve’s pet rabbit. When will these tragedies end? Bad things tend to happen in threes so maybe we are safe for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gest
Reading Watership Down was the first time I remember thinking about there being such a thing as a political system. The chapter with the rabbits living in the “fake” warren, kept fat and well-fed by the farmer who left the carrots and then periodically disappeared by him, made a big impression on me.
We have oodles of semi-wild rabbits in our backyard, who eat up the dandelions and eventually draw hawks and the occasional fox to re-enact suburban Wild Kingdom.
I bet the rabbit never got a building permit for his tunnel….SoCal and all.
My grey cat with tuxedo white markings just turned 12, he’s got his face in his milk bowl at the moment.
The UK papers made a big splash recently over the death of LA native David Gest, found dead in a London hotel room and who had apparently fallen on hard times. I’d never heard of him, but that’s because I don’t watch UK reality TV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gest
RIP him.
Watership Down is an excellent novel. I would also recommend Adams’ The Plague Dogs but the Highland accents make it a difficult read at times.
But my friends called it, "The Black Bunny."Replies: @Lagertha
If only there was some sort of sport or activity whereby people could get out in the countryside and reduce the number of foxes to a tolerable level….
If you added a cigarette to that picture, you could be this guy: https://www.google.com/search?q=ernst+blofeld+cat&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
RIP, Fred.
Rabbits are fantastic animals and companions.
We had one for nine years; presently we have five-year old doe. She’s a litter-trained house rabbit. She’s incredibly intelligent — rabbits are not nearly as stupid as some people think they are — and she’s got a very rich personality. When we come home from work she’ll roll over on her back and do a “happy flop.” She comes charging out to greet me every single morning when she hears me wake up. Nobody has ever been happier to see me than her!
(I feel bad for some of the ignored, hutched rabbits out there who do not get human attention — they’re really quite social.)
Accept my condolences. I’m happy for the companionship your rabbit provided you. A far greater loss than that freak Prince, I’m sure.
Rabbits are not rodents. Just thought you’d like to know.
Whenever you have a pet you know you will see it die and you know you have a responsibility to let it die comfortably. This is absolutely not the way animals die in nature, which is cruel and without any mercy.
The first cat I had to put down – kidney problems, I carried on until he started to howl – I brought to the vet. The issue is, the cat was terrified of the vet so I basically saw him die terrified [1]. I learned from that, had a vet come over for other animals that had to be put down [2].
It goes to show that there is no such thing as an animal right. Rights are typical human behaviour. But there certainly is a human responsibility toward animals.
[1] It is not entirely true, he was given a calming shot first. But I learned my lesson there.
[2] My rule of thumb is: Be there before the hard suffering starts.
Watership Down was a rather good read as I recall.
OT: For the stalwart few following Swedish politics, a researcher at the Swedish Defence University* today told us on TV that he feared the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the Green party (Mehmet Kaplan and others behaving oddly) over the last few years. Well, well.
Here is the clip, unfortunately in Swedish but for the sake of future historians: http://www.tv4.se/nyheterna/klipp/mp-kan-ha-infiltrerats-av-islamister-3350659
* one may wonder what exactly they do there, but it’s a bona fide military college.
Sorry to hear that Steve. We get attached to animals around us, its our nature I suppose. And it never gets easier when they die.
My condolences.
Not very far from where I live recently white-tailed eagles are returning to wetlands and I had the pleasure of once seeing one. These have a colossal wingspan form 2 up to 2.5 meter, 6 to 8 feet. When I first saw I initially thought it was a small plane in the distance. Local birders call it the Flying Door due to its size.
Very impressive.
Steve
I am truley sorry for your lots.
If this is an absurdist critique of pop culture hysteria over the death of a drug addled degenerate then bravo, brilliant.
If you really have lost your pet then refer to line 1
But rabbits are like rock stars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZJHfy_qcAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVgT6McTYzs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkF61e8CfEA
What a nice tribute to Fred. Sorry for your loss, Steve.
It’s sad to loose a long-lived pet but I frankly don’t understand of the appeal of pets like rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, etc.. It’s not like they can give you true affection or companionship like a dog or cat. They seem to be pets for people who are non-committal, both emotionally and financially, and are just a huge burden because you need to feed them and clean their cage (more than you’d do with a dog or cat) and you get nothing in return.
Took a lot of guts to post that comment of yours. And a lot of thought too. Especially given the circumstances of a guy announcing the death of his beloved pet! You're like retarded right?
“bucks don’t dig burrows, they just wait around for pregnant does to do it for them.”
Stop the bus. So, the men know how to work, they just choose not to if they can at all help it, particularly if someone else around will pick up the slack. It takes the seriousness of a personal life and death situation to motivate them off the couch.
Where have I ever heard of such a thing? R-selection indeed.
Little bunny! RIP.
Condolences Steve.
When my daughters brought home a kitten I studiously ignored it, because I am not a cat person. Eight years later when he died, I cried, real tears. He had attached himself to me and I to him. A furry presence to keep me company and listen to my opinions on whatever. Steve, sorry for your loss.
What an (unintentionally) shitty thing to do. My eyes fell on your pic, then on ‘RIP’ and my heart sank. Guess I was primed by yesterday’s news?
Anyway, condolences. And please don’t do that again
Metaphor for the behemoth Imperial Nanny State:
"One pill makes you larger and
one pill makes you small,
and the ones that mother gives you
don't do anything at all." - Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit"
Let's hope one of Fred Rabbit's American-born offspring will come to inhabit the warren of "You didn't build that" bunkers that Fred dug. If a rabbit wearing a keffiyeh or MS-13 tattoos, or clutching an H-1B visa turns up, well, let's hope Americans will have proven themselves smart enough to have elected Mr. Trump President.Replies: @Buffalo Joe
Auntie, I lined a Gold Box around your comment, well done.
When my mother was still alive she had a mixed breed very small yapping dog. I hated that dog.
But one day a large raptor came into the back yard and took it. It yelped miserably, until the hawk killed it.
I would have thought that I would be glad, but I wasn’t. Indeed, I decided the dog, a cur though he be, had to be avenged. My mother was upset, but I went to the pound and adopted a similar, unattractive small dog and brought him home. I figured the bird would be back.
Since the statue of limitations is probably out now I can tell you what happened, but any really decent person can guess. I took my dad’s old 303 Lee Enfield and figured Mr. Hawk would be back.
It was a federal offense, and I knew it, but I shot that hawk and threw him in a bag and in the dumpster. I never did get bothered.
“If this is an absurdist critique of pop culture hysteria over the death of a drug addled degenerate then bravo, brilliant.”
But rabbits are like rock stars.
That is a long life. In our family, no rabbits lived past 7.
Rabbits in culture
The White Rabbit
It was the eyes that could never be forgotten.
A startling hue of red, like a child’s sweet drink
Or the tint that falls on our fondest memories.
A great soft puff of fur so white
That nature in her most boisterous moments
Could not have contemplated this divine white down
Of human intervention and a thousand forced matings,
Trailing through history to the long dead patriarchal hare,
Swift and cunning and mottled brown to disappear among the briars
When the wolves came hungry and panting and tearing at his front door.
How soon his descendants would fall, were wolves left to fell them,
When sneaking in among the thorns they’d glow like beacons,
Their brown long bleached, their eyes the color of the wolves’ gnawing hunger.
The cage affords protection now
Its steel mesh a match for all the beasts of prey
Now nipping scraps from trash heaps,
Or living at our pleasure,
Souls longing for the chase, grown dim by time and man.
At the scent of one, he wants to burrow,
His claws scratch ground, seeking soft earth,
Finding only bars and deep desire,
Neither yet willing to yield.
OT, but I’m impressed that Trump has seemed to manage to get a positive article written about him in the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/us/politics/donald-trump-gay-rights.html
The comments likewise are illuminating, and generally pretty positive on Trump.
Trump is obviously pivoting to the general election, and he seems so far to be doing a very good job of it, coming off as far more moderate than any recent Republican candidate.
I’ve always felt that Trump would blow a lot of minds in a debate against Hillary by attacking her not infrequently from the left, such as on our crazy wars in the ME.
He seems to be commencing the process earlier than I had expected — though not a moment too soon if he wants to get elected.
“Run, rabbit, run”, written in 1939 it was a popular song during the Blitz when Britain alone fought the Luftwaffe. Churchills favourite song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmk8dbFv_o
From a comment:
The lyrics were used as a defiant dig at the allegedly ineffectual Luftwaffe. On 13 November 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and also soon after the song was premiered, Germany launched its first air raid on Britain, on flying boats that were sheltering in Sullom Voe, Shetland. Two rabbits were supposedly killed by a bomb drop, although it is suggested that they were in fact procured from a butchers' shop and used for publicity purposes.
I had a black 1983 Volkswagen GTI that I tried to name, “The Black Rabbit of Inlé”
But my friends called it, “The Black Bunny.”
My condolences to you and yours, Steve. I know how hard it is to lose a pet. I still catch glimpses of my departed cat occasionally- my mind playing tricks or his ghost, I presume. My gfs tells me she sees him too, occasionally. Very strange.
Here is a very touching memoir of a departed cat. The author’s other pieces can be very graphic and adult, so be forewarned if you go exploring his site. He writes quite well.
https://delicioustacos.com/2016/03/15/bud/#more-4847
People of the psychic sort, used to tell me that animals would visit you once they'd "passed over," and you would know it by a bounce on the bed or couch, where there was no critter to be seen. Never had that happen myself. Then Oscar, the gray cat with no tail and round eyes and round body before he lost all his weight, had to be put to sleep. The next evening came the invisible bounce. Later that week, Cindy, who is psychic with animals, told me, "He visited just once; isn't that right?" Yes, just once. Just once. I don't know why that wouldn't be the case with rabbits too.
You never know.
My dear Buffalo Joe, thank you for your kind compliment.
The first of three deaths could have been Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond fame (I never watched it) on the 17th of April. In which case Steve’s rabbit Fred would be the 1st of a whole new triplet.
I was walking home from dinner in the City of London (in the vicinity of the Gherkin) one evening last summer, circa 10pm, and what I thought was a dog trotting toward me turned out to be a fox. You can still hunt foxes, but not as effectively as with the dogs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html
Looks like a lot of Fishtowners (leftmost quartile of the Bell Curve) are terminating themselves. Darwin's "Elimination of the Weakest" ?Replies: @Wallace
National Review says it is due to “loss of hope” and ends with this plea: “God forgive our nation for believing we could build a culture without you.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/434465/suicide-rate-soars-americans-lose-hope
Rabbit Biodiversity (RBD):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rabbit_breeds
Condolences, Steve. Fred sounds like he was a fine fellow, and a problem-solver.
Also, the photo of you and your rabbit is really great.
My condolences Mr. Sailer. The loss of one’s beloved pet is quite sad. Have you considered getting another? Lagomorphs make a fine pet for a gentle soul.
Sorry to hear about your rabbit. He’s gone to a far far better place now where the hawk lays down with the bunnie in fields of green for evermore, or also sometimes takes the bunnie on wings of flight in mutual ecstasy, somewhat akin to Gerard Manley Hopkins’ The Windhover.
In likewise hopeful theme, Google is today celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Not sure why given their past celebratory proclivities in deriding anything White; maybe they think he was a Jew? I believe you, Steve, have some theories on the subject as to who was, indeed, the real Shakespeare.
Anyway, today, 23/04/2016, is also the 5ooth anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot. What a civilisational earth shattering event that was!
Well done Krauts, my sincere appreciation for your greatest gift to humanity. This calls for a case of Cooper’s Red (Methodism’s greatest gift to mankind, along with the Victa lawnmower) followed by an early morning viewing of Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V.
Here’s to all the Steveosphere, may this day bring great joy and hope for a better world (bunnies included).
My wife of 20+ years is Chinese. A lot of Chinese see animals primarily as something to eat.
She once went to a meeting to maybe volunteer for a “crisis hotline”, where she would have answered phone calls from people suffering some sort of distress. She was asked,”What if someone calls and says,’My dog just died and I’m really sad’ ? What would you say?” She said her response would be “What’s the big deal? It’s just a dog.”
http://www.johnderbyshire.com/FamilyAlbum/Boris/page.html
I’m glad you were prepared to speak frankly. I appreciate that.
Took a lot of guts to post that comment of yours. And a lot of thought too. Especially given the circumstances of a guy announcing the death of his beloved pet! You’re like retarded right?
“My son read this afternoon over the fresh grave what Richard Adams wrote in Watership Down, his talking rabbit book that is one of the great works of imaginative literature to emerge from World War II combat”
This is a beautiful sentence.
🙁 I’m so sorry, Steve. He was a beautiful bunny, and I’m sure he had a very happy life with a Bunny Dad like you.
For what it’s worth, I believe animals may well go to Heaven. God made all things “that they might be.” (Wisdom 1:13-14). Heaven is described like this:
There’s got to be critters in Heaven for that vision to come true. So bless your little bunny-friend. And don’t be too sad; I have a feeling you’ll be seeing him again 🙂
My condolences, pets really do bring much happiness and joy. That rabbit lived a long life, my hamsters only lasted a few years.
"Run, rabbit, run", written in 1939 it was a popular song during the Blitz when Britain alone fought the Luftwaffe. Churchills favourite song.Replies: @Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY)
Here’s that song “Run, rabbit, run”:
From a comment:
The lyrics were used as a defiant dig at the allegedly ineffectual Luftwaffe. On 13 November 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and also soon after the song was premiered, Germany launched its first air raid on Britain, on flying boats that were sheltering in Sullom Voe, Shetland. Two rabbits were supposedly killed by a bomb drop, although it is suggested that they were in fact procured from a butchers’ shop and used for publicity purposes.
Here is a very touching memoir of a departed cat. The author's other pieces can be very graphic and adult, so be forewarned if you go exploring his site. He writes quite well.
https://delicioustacos.com/2016/03/15/bud/#more-4847Replies: @dcite
Bunnies arouse very strong emotions in people. The only time I could ever stand to think of people eating them was when Pa Ingalls brought one home for dinner in the Little House books. You knew they respected that food.
People of the psychic sort, used to tell me that animals would visit you once they’d “passed over,” and you would know it by a bounce on the bed or couch, where there was no critter to be seen. Never had that happen myself. Then Oscar, the gray cat with no tail and round eyes and round body before he lost all his weight, had to be put to sleep. The next evening came the invisible bounce. Later that week, Cindy, who is psychic with animals, told me, “He visited just once; isn’t that right?” Yes, just once. Just once. I don’t know why that wouldn’t be the case with rabbits too.
You never know.
She once went to a meeting to maybe volunteer for a "crisis hotline", where she would have answered phone calls from people suffering some sort of distress. She was asked,"What if someone calls and says,'My dog just died and I'm really sad' ? What would you say?" She said her response would be "What's the big deal? It's just a dog."Replies: @MEH 0910
John Derbyshire wrote movingly of he and his Chinese wife Rosie burying their beloved family dog Boris:
http://www.johnderbyshire.com/FamilyAlbum/Boris/page.html
Fred made it to rabbit heaven by taking a left turn to Albuquerque.
Michelle McNamara, Crime Writer Married to Comedian Patton Oswalt, Dies at 46
“He wound up digging a 15-foot long tunnel under a concrete slab, which prevented cave-ins and kept his hole dry during the rain, with escape exits at each end. This is where he slept peacefully for the last nine years.”
What a little hero , more than any of us here.
I can’t stop laughing at the photo of Sailer(with such serious expression) with the rabbit(looking either tragic or sleepy).
I’ve been busy for a while and am just catching up. So sorry to hear about your loss.
Lonnie Mack, Singer and Guitarist Who Pioneered Blues-Rock, Dies at 74
H/T
that’s 3
I’m sorry to hear that.
I always recommend for dog lovers, “Sight Hound.” – it was the first contemporary book I read in a long time (was in my 30’s) that dealt with that sense of awful doom/fractiousness one feels because of the inability to stave the suffering of animals that we choose to love, or, to be able to give a home to unwanted pets.
I adopted a lot of wild animals (small ones) when I was a kid, and, continue to adopt gentle-giant dogs…but each death is still a dagger to the heart, and still makes me neurotically feel that I must provide a home for all those Petfinder.com dogs who have been abandoned by bad humans. The glimmer of hope I have found this year (incl. Steve’s post about Pits) is : people notice. Animals are not garbage.
Go away, you evil troll. Or I will sick my wolfhounds to snap your vertebra. Borzois have the strongest canine jaws in the world!
But my friends called it, "The Black Bunny."Replies: @Lagertha
I still have (and drive) my (VW- convertible 1969/Chanticleer Yellow) bug!
Rest in Peace Bunny. Good night, sweet prince.
Yet Derbyshire was so defensive of the dickhead dentist from Minnesota who killed a lion for a ‘trophy’.
Good job answering a question that was already answered. Impressive display of 1st grade reading skills…
I wish people cared about me half as much as they care about this stupid rabbit
Condolences , condolences , condolences and our thoughts are with you. Shit man we are all at a loss to express our real understanding for the death of your brave little guy . You have family but all that I had was my little guy . His loss was heart rending . A brave little guy as was your little bunny . True to himself to the end .
My sympathies on the loss of Fred the excellent bunny. In our city neighborhood I will occasionally see a cute little cottontail hopping down the sidewalk, and I marvel at its bravery. So many dogs, cats, hawks, and probably fox (saw one once) who would find them tasty.
Yes, what is it about animals we are attached to? There was a program on public tv about loss of a pet–the only time I remember them running a show with that theme. The expressions on the faces of most of the audience were way more distractedly sad and haunted than what I usually see at funerals (of people.)
Condolences, Steve. Rabbits are far better pets than most people think.
rabbits are VERY popular in Southern-Med, Latin-Amer, Arab, & African culture…. for eating.
Second best (after chicken) feed-conversion ration. Where the rubber meets the road for any farmer.
Texas (“the OTHER Lone Star State”) A & M has a coupla guysdoing rabbit work full-time, at one of the ag-experiment stations.
i’ll put them in touch with Volcani Institute. We can teach Texas how to sell un-marked-with-origin food to money-laden Gulf housewives.