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May 12, 2008 |
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Hank the Camel
FOUND by Martin
in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Found this on yet another walk with the dog.... it took me back to my childhood when I was forced into photo ops that I'd rather never happened.
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
» We're hopping on a plane and jetting to Europe for our Fall 2008 Euro Tour!
» Join Peter Rothbart for his mini-tour of the Pacific Northwest
I think the magnify button actually makes it shrink a little bit.
Wow! Who is more ticked off? The camel or the girl on the front of the camel?
Alabama Gulf Shores Zoo
March 3 2004
Is that what y'all got?
"Hank-no-thumbs" never had to hold onto camel reins, did he Cubby?
Given that camels/dromedaries are notoriously fractious and ill-tempered, I am always amazed that zoos offer camel rides to anyone, particularly children. I've also been told they smell quite a bit. Fun times.
I think I was about this age when I took my first Camel ride.
Now I have emphysema.
Just training.
In a few years these kids will be old enough for Army service, and we'll still be stuck in Iraq. Experience with camels might come in handy.
@Night in gale, yup, that's what I see, too.
Ya gotta be careful with those Gulf Shors dromedaries, they can be hateful when provoked.
I like how the finder talked about being forced into photo ops as a kid; that took me back. The one that immediately came to mind was one Christmas when I was 7 or 8 years old. My brother and I both got the same hideous, bright red argyle sweater vests from my grandparents. My parents had us put them on and the Polaroid was taken, with neither of us smiling. We left them on until the grandparents left, then pulled them off and never wore them again. Grandma and grandpa never bought us clothes again either, which was also a good thing. Every time I see the part of "A Chrismas Story" where Ralph has to wear the bunny suit, I remember our moment. Thankfully, it was only a tiny fraction as bad. :)
..serious camel toe.
Librarian, that's depressing. But you have a good point. Looking at the picture again, it looks like the kid on the front is aiming a gun. But no, she/he is relaxing on the front bar of that people holder (what are those called?) I rode an elephant once at Wildlife Safari a few years ago. It felt unexpectedly unstable because the riders move with the elephant's loose skin as she walks. It was fun! I like elephants more, the more I know about them, and after that even more, having been so close to one. Don't know about camels though.
Going in sane, I can totally imagine the Polaroid from that memorable Christmas.. have you checked the found archives? Surely it's in there somewhere! You guys must have looked really really cute.
Ah ha!!!
Until now I had never seen a real camel-toe. Now it all makes sense.
@Clover--I love elephants! If you haven't already, you should read Water for Elephants. Excellent book.
Ahh, yes...Toledo Zoo 1988, Camel rides..Yep, they stink and are scary tall! Nothing like riding a horse and the saddle thing is very unstable & I remember crying to be let off. Luckily the picture was taken at the beginning of the ride, so Gramma has a nice picture of me atop the camel beast.
I remember good ol' camel rides at the fair. I didn't know zoos did it too. Yep, orinoco womble, I have to agree...they do stink.
I think this would have been more suitable for a Wednesday. I'm gonna go smoke now.
For a minute there I thought this was Donkey Week. If I were still alive, I'd rather ride an elephant. Or a magic carpet.
@Clover: Sadly, my parents took all of the old photos with them when they moved out-of-state, so I have none. I have no idea why they took them instead of giving them to us kids, because they never look at them. Also, thanks for the lovely comment. You really made my day.
@Clover--I, too, can recommend "Water for Elephants". It was a really good book, although it does bring to light how cruel some animal trainers are. Several TV shows have also shown how horribly elephants are treated and then the trainers are shocked when the animal has had enough and turns on them. I have a childhood pic of myself on an elephant at a Safari Wildlife place and it always makes me feel kind of sad...I guess I am glad, too, that the elephant didn't choose that moment to go on a rampage...
Where'd they get the name Hank? Not that it isn't a great name for a camel, but.. why Hank? or am I missing something?
@ Just wondering: I think you're missing the T. It's supposed to be Thank the Camel.
I hate zoos.
Seeing this photo really made me smile. I live about 15 - 20 miles from this zoo, and I have many memories of time spent there. When I was 8 years old, I participated in a fundraiser for this zoo. My dance group and I did a jazz dance, and we painted our faces like different animals. I was a tiger.
Animal Planet put out the series "The Little Zoo That Could," which was centered around a small zoo struggling during Hurricane Ivan. The small zoo is the one in the photo.
p.s. I don't think there are camels there anymore.
That's right Night in gale, Hank-no-thumbs would never ride no stinkin' camel.
These two swarthy children are of the Ababda Bedouin and have arrived here at the Siwa oasis after crossing the vast expanse of the Egyptian desert. Here they will water their camel at the spring of Cleopatra and barter spices for dates and rice before continuing their westward journey through the harsh Libyan desert. In the backgound is a Berber Toureg couple in traditional nomadic garb, in which the men rather than the women cover their faces, even while eating. Although mostly shielded from the influence of western culture, still these children press on in hopes of reaching Ali Bama, a paradise set on the American Gulf Coast, the name of which literally means "the exalted one of prophecy."
"Oh Susannah, don't you cry for me, cuz I've gone to Ali Bama with a prayer rug under my knees."
I've been bit by a camel... twice. I still like them, though.
I don't agree with zoos, either.
But I had to laugh when I heard, "Serious Camel Toe...!!!!!"