Rabbit Rabbit
On the first day of each month the first words I utter to anyone are “Rabbit Rabbit”. I have done this for years and have been told it brings good luck for the month. So I’ll try anything that is so simple and might bring some good even though I am generally not superstitious. That seems like a much better rabbit-related good luck charm than a foot on key chain which strikes me as barbaric.
I have a thing for rabbits. Not sure exactly when it started. Maybe it was when my older sister brought home a big white one with pink eyes. I thought that was so cool as I didn’t have to clean the cage. Yet, I was able to enjoy petting her and watching her hop around. She lived in the basement and I’m certain came to a sad end when she was let loose in the neighborhood when the novelty wore off.
In later years, I took on the care of my nephew’s rabbit, a brown Holland lop, named Bugs, and promptly renamed him Chet as he reminded me of Boston newscaster, Chet Curtis. No disrespect intended to him as I consider naming pets after people to be a compliment. Chet was my first house rabbit and he enjoyed supervised hops around the kitchen and evenings on my lap with gentle pats until I would stop and he would chomp into me to remind me that I ought not stop in the middle of a love fest. I joined the Massachusetts House Rabbit Society and needless to say, as a vegetarian, boycotted any restaurants with rabbit on the menu.
I sobbed when he died and buried him in the backyard after reading a poem and sobbing yet some more. After Chet, I took up with dogs, but I still have a soft spot for bunnies hopping around the yard despite the fact that they are a menace to my garden.
This time of year I see rabbit hutches pop up in yards presumably for kids with new Easter pets, but rabbits are not a children’s, nor an outdoor pet. They are social, sensitive, smart little creatures who can literally die of fright. So, putting them outdoors, alone, and shortly thereafter losing interest in a pet that requires a fair amount of care to their cage including dispensing of rabbit dung just isn’t good for the bunny. Older responsible children could have a bunny or two if the care is supervised by an adult, but only if they live indoors near to the rest of the home inhabitants, not put in the basement or garage. Enough about that- you get the point.
Although I love rabbits, I am not crazy about all things rabbit. Much of the stuff that is rabbit related looks like tschotskes to me-crummy artwork, crummy quality. I have a few treasured bunny items that will be spared in my minimalist craze to divest of all things that I really, really don’t need. They hold sentimental value and a reminder of gentle little ones that need protection. Beatrix Potter really knew what she was doing when she wrote about Peter Rabbit.
