Down the rabbit hole

On Sunday I dined on freshly slaughtered rabbit, slow cooked over stone and charcoal in a traditional pot (chodei - I think that might be the spelling), with fresh seasoning and coconut milk. Mmmm Mmmm good, - the vegetarians and unadventurous would not be able to fully appreciate such a delicacy. Soft meat melting off the bones, succulent, delicious meat. Yes, it was good.

We observered the life being snuffed from these cute fluffy white rabbits (three of them); and as twisted as this may sound, we could not help but be amused. There we were watching this show of might, superiority in the animal kingdom, on these helpless animals - and it brought back memories of our more youthful days. We recalled lazy afternoons sitting in front the television set watching Bugs Bunny out wit and inflict grievous bodily harm upon would-be villains. We recounted the many times we saw Bugs Bunny survive explosions, anvils, wrecks etc. and we laughed - "wah de fok dat dead". Two quick blows to the back of the head and the cute fluffy rabbit went into convulsion, breath slowed and eyes popped as it began it's final journey to that bright light down the eternal rabbit hole.

My notion of the indestructibility of Bugs Bunny has long been dispensed; however Sunday was a brutal reminder of the farce which passed for entertainment of my young impressionable mind so many years ago. Today I thought about the events of Sunday as I walked passed the students near the cafeteria and could not help think that their notions of what is, their innocence (what is left of it) will sooner rather than later be snuffed. Like rabbits to the slaughter, they will step out into this world and meet butchers, butchers of their dreams, their desires - some will meet a fate similar to those rabbits, and others may be quick enough to out run and out wit the butcher (that would-be villain which will come in many forms). But whether they survive or not, their view of the world will never be the same.

That thought soon expired as I returned to my office - but that damn rabbit would not let my thoughts be; then it occurred to me that there was some nuance between Bugs Bunny and youthful exuberance.

When we are young we tend to have this misguided notion that we are indestructible - the body seems to recover quickly from injuries, ailments come and go, you're vibrant ostensibly super human; kinda like Bugs Bunny, super rabbit he was. Nothing got Bugs Bunny down for too long, if at all - notice though that hare never aged, bled or genuinely felt pain. Unlike Bugs though, I have aged since those days - and injuries take a bit more time to heal, if I get a plok, I won't just grit my teeth and pretend I did not feel it (like I did in my younger days) - I will scream like a girl. I'm not indestructible like that cute fluffy rabbit on the TV, I'm a human being - my body ages and my mind is less impressionable. Growing up is certainly a double edged sword.

And to think that all this thinking came from a cute fluffy rabbit which turned out to be a damn good meal. Oh did I mention I discovered another part of my beautiful country with a river to boot in the process. The rabbits may take consolation in their demise knowing that it helped me discover more of my beautiful island - or maybe not.