HOPE&BRAY
Some might think there are those who are better than others.
John Bromstad
The weather prediction called for rain, lots and lots of it. It is a historical fact that the Ark was captained by an old man with a long white beard by the name of Noah. Before the rains came he sailed around the world and rounded up a male and female of every kind of creature he could find. He was commanded to do this so they would not drown or become an endangered species. First to come aboard the ark were the bigger animals like the hippos and elephants and the rhinoceroses. He put them in the middle of the boat to give it stability. Next came the animals that were still large but didn’t weigh quite so much. Giraffes, horses, cows, donkeys, ostriches and bears. Noah had to create a special section for animals that were dangerous so he caged off one end of the ark for the lions and tigers and wolves. Once the major loading was done he let the rest of the animals just run and jump on board to find places wherever they could. Imagine the wild mayhem of the squirrels and pigs and rabbits and foxes and weasels and skunks and possums and raccoons and lambs and sheep as they pushed and shoved and scrambled aboard. They squeaked and squealed and hissed as they found a spot either on the covered deck or in a dark corner below.
There was no need to be concerned about the ducks and swans and eagles and the thousands of colorful birds because they could just fly above the dark, rain-filled clouds. The fish and clams and starfish and dolphins and alligators were in seventh heaven (pardon the pun) frolicking in the rising waters.After several days under the constant downpour the passengers became restless. The monkeys jumped up on the roof and climbed in and out of the windows, other small animals were getting underfoot of the four-legged beasts and everyone was bumping into one another.
There were heated discussions and arguments and competition amongst the lot. Finally, the horses and buffaloes organized races on deck so they could stay in shape, followed by the gazelles and deer, a race that was over in about ten seconds. The ostriches and the kangaroos stumbled to finish the three-legged gunny sack race, which brought gales of laughter from the animal gallery.
But, you know how animals are. They sleep a lot, thank God for that; otherwise they never would have endured those wet and wild days and nights.After forty days and forty nights of torrential rains the Ark finally came to rest on a point of land between a river called the Potomac and a large bay of salt water identified as the Chesapeake Bay. The Ark had run aground in the very shallowest place on the eastern coast of a great continent.
Finally, the sun came out from behind the clouds, the ramp was lowered so the animals could disembark and get their feet on solid ground again. The old captain of the boat was very happy when he took role call and knew that everyone had survived.
The scene was one of mass confusion, absolute bedlam. A large number of the animals decided to get back on the Ark and demanded that Noah take them back to Africa. However, the elephants missed the boat. The tigers roared with startling authority, “ Take us to India, neow!” The mountain lions and foxes started chasing the rabbits and deer and sheep, scattering the poor devils into hiding. The cows went one way, moose another.
All sense of organization was lost until finally there were only two sets of species left on this countryside with a hill right in the middle of it.The donkeys brayed at the elephants, shouting they were much too big and powerful to stay. “Go back where you belong,” they said.
“Sorry folks,” the elephants trumpeted to Mr. And Mrs. Donkey. “We’re big and powerful and we’re going to stay. So get off our hill. And by the way, our last name is Republican.”
“Well, in that case, we are not going to be far away,” replied Mrs. Donkey with a haughty tone. “We’re agile and stubborn and tenacious. We are the Democrat family.”
