While walking my dogs in the early morning we often pass an antique store on Elizabeth Street near my house. Last week in the window there appeared a terracotta statue of a giant jack rabbit. He was at least two and half feet tall. He was wearing a grapevine garland. I thought he was quite handsome standing there and I thought I should investigate the price and see if maybe he would like to come home with me. I could see the tag and the price was really quite reasonable. So I decided to return to buy the big bunny when the store was open.
As I walked on, I began to think about how for years, off and on, I have had these bizarre nightmares. They involved me being in some desolate place, generally the desert, where there were cacti and sagebrush and debris left by careless people. I was exploring the terrain when out jumped these giant jack rabbits. Now I love rabbits and bunnies, but these guys seemed unusually ferocious. I was definitely intruding on their territory and they were probably very hungry to boot. They stood up on their hind legs and glared at me. I was afraid, very afraid.
In these dreams, I would run from the rabbits and they chase me, nipping at my heels. Usually I find refuge in an abandoned cabin or make it back to my vehicle. In any case, I usually wake up about then and lie there awake wondering what the heck that was all about.
So, of course, when I saw this giant bunny in the store window that morning, I knew had to have him. Perhaps it would resolve the dreams and also look good in my backyard. After a few days, I went back yesterday and bought him. The shop itself is another story for another day. The young woman who sold him to me was very shy and wearing an old (and soiled) jacket with a price tag on it. I had found her in the back of the store trying on some shoes. But as I said, that is a story for another day. I paid for the rabbit and left.
At first I put the statue in the back yard. But for some reason, he did not seem to want to stay out there. I relented and brought him indoors to where he sits now, on a small table beside the fireplace. He seems happy there for now. I do believe he will want to return to the outdoors once the warm weather returns. Okay, I am beginning to realize I am anthropomorohizing this rabbit. But it does seem odd to me how he appeared in that window just to refresh the memory of those old nightmares. I still cannot figure out why I had them. As I said, I was never frightened by a bunny of any kind and I doubt my mother was ever frightened by one either.
So now he sits here in my living room. I was telling someone that I am not sure I care for the garland. They suggested I could dress him for whatever the current holiday is. But I don't think so. I think I will eventually remove the garland and let him go au naturel. After all, that is how nature intended it.
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