Monday, February 9, 2009

The Orangutans

I am not big on evolution. I tend to believe that God created the heavens and the earth. But, if you visit the zoo, like I like to do, you will see a lot of human characteristics in the animals. Having been in retail for 30 years, I can tell you that humans act a lot like animals, so it is pretty much even. I wanted to write a bit though about the Orangutans. These animals are primates, and it is said that their behavior is much like humans. I can attest to that. There are 3 in the family. A mother. A father. And, a baby. The baby is old enough to climb but is still unsure about the ground. The father lies around. And, the mother watches over the baby, just to make sure it is okay. As I was watching them, the baby was hanging on a rope and swinging over toward its father. He would grab hold of the father and let go, swinging back and forth. The father allowed the baby to play with him for a while, and then he went over to another part of the area to lie down. Then, the baby went over to its mother and started to play with her. The mother took the baby's hand and played with it by moving it up and down. This went on for a while, until the baby went back to his father on the ground. They snuggled. I started getting a little teary, because I recognized some of those activities in things my parents did with me. My father was a little aloof, but when he did take an interest in me, it was very loving. During my mother's last days, she couldn't talk much, but she would grab my hand and swing it back and forth. Her grip was so strong that sometimes it would hurt, but I could feel the love from her hand to mine. Now, I don't want to have anybody say that I lived with orangutans, but you can see that they love and care for their baby, much like my parents loved and cared for me. I wish they were still around. I miss the love.

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