Why parents eat their young
Chickenbone and I had small pets as kids, guinea pigs and a hamster. The guinea pigs were rather “randy”, mated and had cute little furry babies. Baby guinea pigs are born with a coat of fur, and their eyes open. They look like the just like the adults, but with disproportionately big feet.
Baby anything was a first for us little kids. The arrival of baby guinea pigs was an opportunity for my parents to explain the miracle of birth.
This “miracle of birth” explanation included the fact that some animals eat their young, an act known as filial cannibalism. My parents weren’t sure if this applied to guinea pigs, so we had to separate the father guinea pig from the mother and babies, just to be safe.
Parents eat their young??! This was a surprising thing for a little kid to hear. I couldn’t understand why or how a member of a family – any family, mammalian or not – could eat their young. It seems scientists don’t really know, either.
Fast forward many some years later, and this happened…
A couple days ago I came home from my job at the hardware store, changed clothes, and then went to work at the park. That day my shift at the park job was four hours long.
When I walked into my house at the end of the day, I noticed this…
Two different shoes on one pair of feet. Feet belonging to yours truly.
Two different shoes on one pair of feet – my feet.
They’re not even the same color shoes.
No one at the park said a thing. I was in the office for four hours and no one said a thing.
Lest I ever get a big head, I can recall two things about this incident:
– I can be so distracted as to leave the house wearing two different shoes – and then not even notice until I get home FOUR HOURS LATER.
– No one else noticed either.
Maybe now I understand.
It is always my goal to teach you something. Today you learned your author can put on two different shoes and not notice for hours. Laugh if you will, but I know I’m not the only one out there who has done something like this. If you haven’t yet, it’s only a matter of time.
Two lessons:
1. They probably thought that was some kind of California hippy fad.
2. Women over-estimate the aesthetic importance of shoes.
You are probably absolutely correct on number 1. Many Texans do consider Californians to be from a different planet.
But, my fellow blogging friend, you’re incorrect on number 2. It’s men who underestimate the importance of shoes. Speaking for myself, when I’m checking out a man, I definitely look at his shoes. Not to evaluate from a financial point of view, but the right shoes can be sexy on a man! I like masculine-looking shoes, cowboy boots, or brown leather flip flops. Tevas are not hot, in my humble opinion. 🙂
Eating young… I once read about a frog that eats its young. No, not Bull Frogs, though I think they do too. I am talking about a unique adaptation to harsh conditions. Sorry, I don’t recall where.. The deal is the tadpoles eat algae and the adults are carnivorous. But there is very little carne for them to eat. So- the young eat algae, the adults eat the young, lay eggs, lather/rinse/repeat. It works for them. For the adults I mean. No one has determined how the young feel about it.
‘No one has determined how the young feel about it.’ LOL!!
Ah, the circle of life!