Monday, April 23, 2007

Bike Rides and Baby Bunnies

Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them. ~ Brendan Francis

First off -- a public service announcement: Groovy needs help meeting her pledge for the Trek Across Maine bike ride benefiting the American Lung Assn. I figure that she's doing all the hard work - 180 mile bike ride (yikes!), so the least I can do is donate a few dollars. If you feel the spirit move you, I invite you to do the same. Here's her page, and here's her husband's page.

Even if you don't, you should check out her blog. She's always good for a laugh :-)

(But, Groovy, the frame is mine... sorry).

Now, a funny story.

I've discovered that there are just some things I can't imagine somebody doing -- when I'm working through character interviews for my H/H and secondary characters, I try to crawl outside my own feelings about things and mix it up a little. But yesterday, my neighbor and I were exchanging wildlife stories, and she told me one that made me realize that I just can't dream up some stuff.

She mentioned that a little, baby bunny found its way into her backyard. Let's all give a collective "Awwww..." c'mon, you know you want to. Baby bunnies are right up there with fuzzy baby ducks for the "aw" factor, aren't they?



I admit, I went "awww...", but she looked at me very seriously and said, "But the thing wouldn't leave. And the girls wouldn't go outside to play -- they kept screaming, 'It probably has rabies!'".

Her girls are nine and eleven -- just at the "awww..." age, one would think. Apparently, one would think wrong.

I can picture kids afraid of dogs, or snakes, or bats, or spiders... but bunnies? Amazing.

Bet if I wrote that little scene in a book, no one would believe it could happen. Actually, I've done that before -- written actual stuff that's happened (usually to me, which makes me wonder how strange a life I must lead) and my writing group will tell me that it's completely unbelievable that it could happen.

What thing has happened to you or someone you know that most folks would find difficult to believe?

EIGHTY DEGREES today... Woo! (We won't talk about the 50 degree weather coming up in a few days).

Have you entered to win a book yet?

5 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

AAAWWWWWW!!!!! I'd be out there trying to get a closer look. We have a family of groundhogs in our back yard. They're really cute too, but we leave them be. My mom has a bear in her backyard quite often in late fall and early spring. Not a lot of AAWWW factor there.

my new blog address is http://cerihebert.blogspot.com/ I've been posting on both blogs while I transition, but I'm going to change the address on my website to direct people to the new one. :)

And thanks so much for letting people know that tomorrow is the day! I'm getting butterflies!

pujsrhl-please understand just so really hard lately

groovyoldlady said...

Thanks for the plug!

Ah, inspiration from real life: No one believes (except those who've actually come to my house to visit) that my husband and I raised a little baby dustbunny and named it Marvin.

Marvin lived in our hallway for over six months and we regularly fed him fluff and helped him assimilate other rogue dustbunnies until he was larger than a softball.

My in-laws, who live in an attached apartment, always stepped carefully around him when they came in. And my hubby always placed Marvin gently on a chair when he (my husband) vacuumed.

I made a comic strip about him but I'm such a techno idiot that I'm STILL working on a viable FREE way to post it online.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the baby bunnies are so sweet!!! I can't imagine anyone being scared of them.

Melissa McClone said...

Bunnies when aggravated rip opponents stomach's open and pull out the innards. They can be vicious and very territorial. I kid you not. My idea of sweet cuddly things was permanently changed when a bunny owner explained life with his rabbits.

Marianne Arkins said...

Groovy, I love your dust bunny story (have you read the Jayne Castle books that have real live dust bunnies in them?)... figure out the comic strip thing already.

Melissa, I spent the day yesterday watching the chipmunk who lives in a gas tank out back attack anything and everything that came close the the feeder: birds, other chippies, red squirrels... but she still has an "awwww" factor, despite her obvious territorial tendency.

Tori, I'm sure my jaw dropped when she mentioned it. C'mon... bunny-fear?

Ceri, I can't wait for your book to come out tomorrow! Woo!