Monday

Starting a new day.

Cat sitting is over. My sister has returned so I don't have to care for her brood anymore. She's also helping me out by looking after red Fred today (even though I do kind of miss going to see him). So my cat sitting is over. I'm a bit relieved really. Last night I felt quite tired from it all even with D. helping me out feeding my sister's cats in the morning while I went off to see red Fred. My own cats were becoming quite needy. D. leaves so early in the morning for his long commute to work so the cats just rely on me for attention in the day. One morning I was trying to get ready in the bathroom and Prima and Svetlana were like a circus act, weaving around my legs, jumping from the bathtub to the sink to the bathtub to the sink etc etc and then both were on the sink while I'm trying to put contacts in my eyes. I finally had to say enough and I picked them both up and put them out in the hallway. It was getting to be cat crazy. You've seen the cast of characters so you know Rupert, Penny, Chengo and Ruggles were just as needy (especially Rupert and Chengo). You can't just dump food in a bowl and leave. Each cat needs attention, each one needs to be acknowledged.

Oh yes, I was starting a new day. Just me and my cats and back to writing and job hunting since I did one catering shift last week on Wednesday.

I was called on the day of the event, which was just a sit down dinner for 10 people in a house not too long a commute from home so it was all good. Lovely old house that looks partially renovated while trying to maintain the old bones of the house. This was refreshing to see since so many of these wealthy homes are gutted and rebuilt from the bottom up so that all is left is the exterior facade and maybe some old windows. Generally though the houses are gutted and rebuilt to look Restoration Hardware. In sum, they are quite bland. Thus, this house was refreshing. The couple were lovely. Two very sweet dogs lived there. The woman greeted us after walking the dog. She wore a full length down coat and a big ol' fur hat. I try not to react too startled when people greet me with fur on since it happens so much in the work I do. She's very nice and relaxed with us and doesn't mind that her cutlery doesn't match or the plates and wine glasses are odd shaped. She overlaps two different table cloths in order to cover the length of the dining table. So this all bodes well for me because she's fairly casual about it. Don't misunderstand though even though nothing matches, her mismatched things are beautiful. The cutlery is still silver, some of the stemware is still Riedel and the mismatched tablecloths are Provence prints,and the placemats she bought at the Met in New York. The crowd for dinner are predominantly artists so methinks this is part of her mismatched design plan.
I digress.
Back to the fur hat...
At the end of the evening I feel like I've had enough. It's been enough work since there was just two of us on the job and Sharon was in the kitchen the whole night cooking while I served hors d'oevres, did a little bartending, served dinner, cleared, helped with dishes etc etc. It was a busy night. It all went smoothly. So at the end of the night the hostess tells us she has no cash for a tip, but will write us checques. Sharon and I gather our things and I casually toss my tibuktu bag on the couch. This bag has a PETA logo stitched into it that I bought from PETA many years ago. Usually, I'm discreet about the logo in these homes for the same reason I served lamb stew that night without complaint -- it's my job and I'm not there to offend the client. The hostess hand me the checque and says, "Oh, PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Are you vegan?"
Me: "Yes."
Her: "My sister is vegan! I know all about it. Do you know Farm Sanctuary?"
Me: "The one in New York?"
She nods and hurries into the kitchen.
Me: "Of course I know it. I'd love to go someday."
Her (from the other room): "My daughter goes every summer with her cousin and the two of them help out around the farm."
She returns to me holding out a photo.
Her: "This is my daughter with the pigs. These two pigs were rescued from the slaughterhouse."
Me: "They're beautiful."
In the photo are two young girls (around 10 or 12) hugging these beautifully full grown large pigs lyiing in big bed of straw. It makes my heart melt, it's such a moving photo because I hope it changes these girls lives. I understand that they have the privilege of wealth so that their kids can go to places like this instead of summer camp and their lives will be changed forever. They will learn about the things we aren't told about animals when we grow up.

On Saturday I'm at red Fred's and we've done some bonding. He's eating. I turn on the t.v. to see what's what and am immediately caught up in a TVO children's program that is in the midst of a visit to a sheep farm in England somewhere. Lambs are being born on a regular basis it would seem. This is the spectacle of the animal world that children are riveted to so I see the attraction. We get to watch the spectacle of a "lambing" (a birth -- see i've learned something already). there is no explanation of why there are so many sheep in such a small space nor why the lambs are being born so regularly and are hopping around the space with blue numbers painted on them. What the children's show doesn't permit is a view into the lamb's future which is slaughter. How do you explain that to your youngster? The solution. Don't tell them about it and make this sheep barn seem as natural as the Old MacDonald song. From a very early age we learn that farms are natural, eating meat is natural but there is no connect shown between the two. A step is omitted.

Next.

Another channel has this crazy show called Maralee Dawn and friends (the friends are two puppets. Maralee is a ventriloquist). The theme music is "merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream" that you'll remember from the Row Row Row your Boat fun times in nursery school. Maralee's show is a Christian emphasized program where, for example, she has a talk with an Elvis impersonator who tells us there is "only one king" and corrects one of Maralee's friends when they say Elvis is the only king. The impersonator says that no, "it's Jesus Christ. We should want to be like Jesus. The king of kings." Again I digress.

In a section of Maralee's show titled "Adventures in Scripture" we visit a zoological garden where we are invited to watch penguins swim merrily around a pool. These penguins, we are told, are rescued from an oil spill. The narrator continues to tell us the generic facts about penguin life. No explanation is offered about the oil spill being a problem nor is there any explanation about penguins not really living in a pool in a "zoological garden." We learn to identify the bird but not the bird in its "natural" environment. There is no explanation offered of their real world location. Therefore, this scene is normalized. A zoo is shown to be a normal habitat of sorts. Animals are experienced through zoos.

Understand that I never see children's programming (except for maybe Yoho Ahoy when I manage to catch it) so this is a revelation for me. I know we can do better. Adult programs are no improvement. We have "nature shows" that need to contain a voice of God narration to give us a traditional dramatic narrative with Aristotlean like build up in order to keep us from changing channels. Darwinism is endorsed as is the heterosexuality of animals (when it is proven that the animal world is completely bisexual). Furthermore, the presence and necessity of presence of humans is also shown as normal.

I know there is no simply solution to our co-existence with animals. We can't ignore our imprint on their lives and how we've altered their existences with no regard for their needs. Yes there are amazing organizations and people doing incredible things to improve our relationships with animals worldwide. I applaud them, donate to them and encourage others to know about their work. My concern is what I've mentioned above, the misinformation we give our children about our relationship to animals. These shows don't have to be done away with (although I wonder about the Elvis impersonator???). At some point in a child's development do we not have to come clean? Fur is an animal's skin torn away. Milk is meant for baby cows and not the only source of calcium. Meat is factory farmed. Wild life doesn't really exist. Do we not have to tell them the truth at some point?

Okay, I really digressed there. This was supposed to be about Monday. Monday being a new day...