On the way to work one day last week I way confronted by something out of the ordinary. There near an ordinary garden fence was the tamest fattest big brown floppy eared rabbit.
I walked up to it via the footpath near the fence and stood no more than six inches away from it. It looked at me out of the side of one large rounded pea-shaped eye as if to say "can't talk now - busy eating". Then it went back to the clump of grass it was eating and continued chewing, chomp, chomp, chomp its jaw.
I was so amazed by its placid tameness that I got my camera out and took some photos of it. Alas at this point Mr Rabbit decided to be a shy creature again and disappeared through the bars in the fence and out of view behind the house it had been in front of when I first saw it. Not a bit like the more famous White Mr Rabbit that spent its time chatting to Alice even though he was late for a very important date. Nor was he imaginary like Harvey the one seen by Jimmy Stewart the main character in "Its a Wonderful Life". And not in any way sinister or dark like the rabbit that kept turning up for Donny Darko.
Makes you think how much humans are taken by Rabbits. How much we like to ponder on this little creature who apart from its placid nature can only really lay claim to breeding often as a major skill set. A skill set that has seen it become a fertilty symbol, a religious symbol and a food source.
On resuming my trip to work I could not help making the anology that at the moment we are beset by another Mr Rabbit who is far from shy and has made posturing before cameras an art form. Wish he was imaginery and a little less sinister.
MAZMATTERS a place where I can write, think and learn a bit.
