Hello Friends,
For the last six months or so my Mom has been feeding a wild rabbit that hangs out in the front yard. She gives it scraps of carrot or celery that are left over from making dinner. She makes sure our dogs don't bark at it while it chills in the shade under the big maple tree. Apparently the little lagomorph even ate right from her hand a few times.
She never brings it into the house or tries to capture in a cage. Pets are denied their freedom in exchange for a lifestyle that by animal standards is nothing short of decadent. This rabbit may get cold and lonely sometimes, but it remains free. My mother maintains this distant harmony with the rabbit and thus I think she considers it a friend, whom she'll care for and pay attention to but will never try to disrespect by wrangling too close a hold on.
Mom told me she found her little friend dead on the side of the road the other day after not seeing him in the yard for a week so. She's a tough woman, but I heard her voice crack and I felt her pain. Whether the bunny fell victim to a neighborhood cat or a careless driver, I'll never know but I sure wish it was still around, the whole situation just seems terribly...unfair.
Phill
Classical Comments: The Bracketed Cornice
13 years ago
1 comment:
In class, we are reading a philosopher who seems to believe that the perception of our world is only one that can be understood through a kind of idea of intersubjectivity. This extends to the idea of freedom which is not the breaking of ties to things or people, but true freedom is about the ties we have to people and the world we create through such ties. Our creative contribution gives us more freedom. So in a sense, this little bunny was more free, for a moment, for knowing your mother. I really hope she is alright.
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