Close Encounters with Nature

Conversation today:

Molly and I were standing in the kitchen when she asked me whether I preferred the Prince in “The Princess and the Frog” movie as a frog or as a human being. I confessed that I didn’t have an opinion, but she insisted that he was waaaaay better as a frog; cuter, funnier and more fun. Jokingly, I told her that she had better get the idea of marrying a frog out of her head because I didn’t want tadpoles for grandchildren.

Finny, eavesdropping, then asked if SHE could marry a frog, even if Molly wasn’t allowed. Sarcastically, I told her sure. She was (unsarcastically) relieved. She told me that she was interested in a frog as a husband…or possibly a fish.

Lukey, never one to miss out on a conversation, raced around the corner of the kitchen and demanded to know if HE could marry a frog. I was so confused. I said yes, sure, why not? He thought for a moment before declaring that a frog would be okay, but what he really wanted to do was “marry a beautiful puppy who can stand up on her back legs”. He then mimed a dance with his imaginary wife, holding her imaginary front paws. What the…?

I think it is possible that we have over-hyped Earth Day. Loving nature? Good. IN LOVE with nature? A little bit creepy.

Hey, who knows. Maybe one day with the dawning of a new frontier of acceptance, this blog post will be a textbook example of beastiphobia. Love will know no bounds. There will be a remake of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” but instead of Sidney Poitier, it will be a giraffe coming home to meet the family of his future bride. Or we'll star in a documentary depicting Lukey introducing his close-minded parents, to his delightful fiancée, a well-groomed Chihuahua.

I am writing this in Point Roberts with our resident pond frog croaking in the background. Despite the bleach we keep throwing in there to get rid of the mosquitoes, he persists. Maybe I should be more considerate of that guy. After all, he might be the great-great grandfather of my future son-in-law.