I am reminded of an incident after Desert Storm (1990-91), when a Kuwaiti farmer was delighted at the return of his camel after the fighting stopped (then). His farming area in Kuwait had been declared a military zone by the invading Iraqis and some of the camels were frightened away. But after five years, she came home to him. He wrote a poem in praise of his camel's loyalty. "Praise Allah," he said. "CAmels are known for their loyalty, but this is a miracle." And not only that, she was pregnant.
I wrote a little poem at the time to commemorate the camel's homecoming:
I had a little camel
She ran away from me
She returned a bigger camel
Soon we will be three.
Now I write:
You've overthrown Gaddaffi
This we plainly see
But I'd rather the ship of the desert
6 comments:
Hi baroness radon --
Would you feel better if the sacrificed camel were eaten?
Also, try reading Chapter 5 of Richard Sterling's "The Fearless Diner":-
http://books.google.com/books?id=sGJzj-K6xbEC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=camel+%2B+eat+%2B+Clyde&source=bl&ots=lC5Tj0S-8s&sig=sEl1o0BDltYnWX3pu1OmzXsPPvs&hl=en&ei=W7iaTvb_HqyTiAf0-ImsAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=camel%20%2B%20eat%20%2B%20Clyde&f=false
Oh, perhaps, I mean I enjoy my Thanksgiving turkey, which is kind of a sacrifice; (I have a little brush painting I did of a camel and a friend of mine actually mistook it for a turkey). It was just the camel I was thinking of, not so much animal sacrifice in general.
I am reminded also of a story from Philby or maybe T.E. Lawrence...when British soldiers were lost or stranded in the desert, the officers would shoot their camels and leave the wounded soldiers to die. The Arabs would shoot their soldiers and let the camels die. Of course the camels probably had a better chance of surviving.
Your Japan trip was lovely, I enjoyed it very much!
Camels don't make the news a lot, and when they do, it's weird. Several years ago there was a story about a woman who was crushed to death when a camel she has raised tried to copulate with her.
You can't ever trust a hormonal camel.
Still, there are men who would walk a mile for one.
Go figure.
I hope your painting has progressed since someone mistook your camel for a turkey.
Which would you prefer?
"Hey, nice turkey!"
Or: "So nice!"
Actually, most people like the camel painting in question and have no doubt as to the species; I should post it here. But I have just acquired a nice Chinese manual on "How to Paint Lifelike Camel," much more interesting than plum blossoms.
You've gotta be kidding.
There's actually a book called: "How to Paint Lifelike Camel"???
That is - 'ow you say eet? - surreal. The Chinese think of everything.
I think it is "How to Paint Lifelike Camel," but it might be "How to Paint Obstinate Smelly Hairy Beast of Burden."
Camel image post to come shortly.
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