THE ANIMALS ARE COMIN' ONE BY ONE….

THE ANIMALS AT MIL'S PLACE

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"Dere's animals an' animals an' animals
    an' animals an' animals an' animals
                       Yes, Lord."

"De animals a comin', one by one
    De old cow chewin' on a caraway bun
De animals a comin', two by two
    De elephant and de kangaroo
De animals a comin', three by three
    De bear and de bug and de bumble bee

Oh de animals a comin', four by four
    De old hippopotamus stuck in de door
          De animals a comin', five by five
Thus the animals did arrive
    Hallelu, Hallelu, hallelujah to the Lamb."

"O de animals a comin', six by six
     De hyena laughing at the monkey's tricks
De animals a comin', seven by seven
     De old fat pig says: "Who's dat shovin' ?"

De animals a comin', eight by eight
     Noah hollered out: 'Hey somebody!
         Shut that gate!'
Oh, de animals a comin, nine by nine
     Noah hollered out: "Cut dat line!"

Oh, de animals a comin', ten by ten
    De old ark blew it's whistle then
An' nobody knew where they was at
    'Til de old ark bumped on Ararat

HALLELU, HALLELU, HALLELU
        HALLELU, HALLELU
  HALLELUJAH TO THE LAMB.

-----Traditional African-American
        Gospel Hymn, author unknown...
      (as sung by Hardin-Simmons 
              male quartets)
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The animals are comin' to MIL'S PLACE,
also, have been since May 24, 2014.

That was, in a way, a fateful day and the
beginning of my menagerie, according to
my Lett's of London diary, like TR used.

On that date I finished one of my favorite
books ever---"Walking the Gobi," the story
of a 900 mile trek by 63 year old Helen 
Thayer and her husband, across the arid 
and dangerous Gobi Desert, accompanied 
by two rented camels, Tom and Jerry.

I kinda fell in love with those two pesky and
difficult camels (who'd spit at you) but when 
the book was over, I announced: "I'm going
to head out and BUY MYSELF A CAMEL FOR
MY BOOKSHELF, HERE WHERE I WRITE!"

Next thing thing I knew, Beloved Editor came
walking in with a big 13 inch camel she had 
stashed, a gift from our son, Christmas of 1998!

Since then, the animals have been comin',
one by one from family, friends, readers,
to MIL'S PLACE.

The smallest one, a little bitty fish, smaller 
than a nickel, came from our English
house-helper, and she being a hobby
dumpster-diver, has brought several nice
pieces, including a carved duck, about nine
inches long.

Larry, a retired writer and cousin-in-law sent
a great piece---an ebony frog, fixing to 
exercise, with one leg stretched straight up.
(I fear he robbed his own collection for that
kind gift.)

There's a rattlesnake from son Brian's eighth
grade ceramics class...there's a cute Scotty
dog from Gina...

Other animals comin' to MIL'S are a pair
of deer, a squirrel, a pintail, a mallard,
a giraffe, a turtle, two little elephants, a
howlin' jackal...two big bronze 13 inch
pieces---a buffalo and a moose. I bought
those.

SNOOPY oversees it all as well---and
I mustn't forget my 16 inch piggie "GUS,"
named after one of my favorite stars in
Breaking Bad! In my mind--an honor.

GUS holds sign in front:
"MIL'S PLACE."

The kids were out searching for a little
skunk as a Christmas present, but the
skunks were all sold out.

So that's the story of the animals...all
six feet of them, along the tops of my
bookshelves...they're my companions
and each one has a history.

I often winder if mankind, in its awful
rush to whatever...and wherever...
pauses to consider the importance
of animals in the great cosmic scheme
of things.

******30*****
BY MIL
01/03/15