ELEPHANTS

A Question for My Readers “What Is Inappropriate?”

Stew Richland

Words are expressions of ideas, humor, and observations about the world we live in. For many years the Ringling Barnum and Bailey circus would perform at Madison Square Garden.  On of the perks of this event that rarely got any publicity was the fact that the circus made available to New York City farmers, free manure that was scooped up by their handlers.  The circus would provide the product, eager city farmers would provide the shovels and plastic bags to carry away their prizes.  For those who do not possess a “green thumb,” animals that do not eat meat provide a rich sources of plant nutrients especially for organic vegetable gardeners.   This annual event was covered by the Daily News and Post, and on one occasion, my father and I were interviewed and had our picture taken for posterity.

My motive for writing this article was two fold. Circus officials announced that they would no longer use Elephants in their show and that they would be retired to farms in Florida. I was saddened by this decisions because I remember how children responded to their performances.  Elephants have always played a special role at the Circus, the Zoo, literature and in the movies.  “Dumbo” is an American animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and premiered on October 23, 1941.  This film became a classic and was seen by millions of children around the world.  My other motive for writing the article was that I shared this experience with my father.  Since Father’s Day was coming up, I wanted to share this experience with our Century Village fathers.

I submitted the article and waited to see it published in the June edition of the Reporter. It was not. I asked the editor, Joy Vestal, why it was not printed and she replied, “ The editorial staff felt it was inappropriate.”  The dictionary defines inappropriate as: “unsuitable, esp. for the particular time, place, or situation.  The Urban Dictionary defines the word appropriate as: ” The word people use when you've done something that isn't technically "bad" or "wrong" but they still don't like it anyway and expect you to conform to their personal tastes.

My issue with this decision is quite simple, based on the definitions of inappropriate. provide me with  a reason(s) why my article was deemed “inappropriate”  compared to recently published articles entitled, “Norton Museum prepares for renovation,”  “June Brides,” “When Dad Took Us Tent Camping,”  “Changing Attitudes Towards Sports,”  trips to the sugar fields, or “Every Runner Needs a Watch.”  Since the Reporter is always asking residents to contribute to our Village publication, I feel that I deserve some clarification as to their decision on this issue.

Below is the article that was deemed inappropriate. Please comment if you think this article is inappropriate and should not have been published. I have a thick skin so please be fair, balanced and unafraid.

Reply on the blog that the article is posted on or on phyllisrichland.blogspot.com

The End of an Era

Stew Richland

On May 1, the Ringling Brothers Elephant show will end. The Elephants will be retired to a farm in south Florida, and will be closed to the public. The Elephant show  was always billed as the main attraction.  Millions of children had viewed the trained giants doing their walk-abouts in the center of the main ring.  Children screamed with excitement when the Elephants reached with their long noses and curled it around the Elephants tail  in front of them. 

How many millions of families in small town America, were drawn to Main street to see the parade of animals being led down the center of town  to the beat  of the Circus band.  Children were awed by these 18 foot giants, being led by their handlers and sitting on a seats nestled behind huge flapping ears were beautifully costumed trapeze artists or bare back riders waving to the crowds. What a sight it must have been for all those people living in isolated rural sections of our country.

For those who did not live in or near a city that had a zoo, were deprived of the opportunity to see live what they only read about,  or found in  coloring books.  When Disney produced DUMBO in 1941 about a baby elephant made fun of  because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential. The Jungle Book, 1947,  is a story about a boy Mogli who flees into the Jungle to escape the wrath of a tiger, and is protected by his friends the elephants. Tarzan, the King of Jungle also brought elephants into the lives of so many children, when they went to the movies on Saturday with all their friends while their parents took a breather from having them underfoot.

The Circus has been under attack by the animal rights groups and  several animal rights groups repeatedly criticized, picketed and sued the Ringling Bros. for its treatment of the animals. In 2011, the circus was fined $270,000 by the USDA for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Under this kind of pressure, Ringling Bros. made the decision to retire these wonderful animals and let them live out their lives in retirement in sunny Florida.

In this photo a blind child in Chicago sits on the back of an kneeling Elephant from the Ringling Bros. Circus in 1917.  Can you just imagine the thrill this was for the child?

Just look at the faces of the children and their parents when this Elephant reaches its snout and begins to explore the little ones in the audience.

I am sure that we all have our elephant stories and I would like to share two of mine with you.  It was on a cold winter day that I went with my father to the Brooklyn Zoo. I wore woolen gloves to keep my hands warm.  I remember standing by the  guard rail of the Elephant enclosure with some peanuts in my outstretched hand hoping to entice an elephant to take the offering.  Quickly I was rewarded.  Reaching out for the peanuts the Elephant deftly took my offering and with the slight of nose as graceful as any pickpocket, he snatched the glove right off my hand and sauntered away with his prize.

When ever the Circus would come to town, they would advertise in the local papers that on certain days, gardeners were welcome to take the days manure collection produced by the circus animals.   They also provided large plastic bags with the circus logo for all the amateur gardeners.  My father and I never missed this opportunity to acquire this great source of food for out vegetable gardens.  My father and I would arrive early, so we could load up on this “Brown Gold.”  We had shovels and extra heavy duty garden bags if the circus did not supply their own bags.  I can remember shoveling rapidly from the waste bins into the bag that my father held, filling it up and then he would rush back to the car to deposit this great gift into the trunk of the car. On one occasion, people who were new at this game and were not equipped with shovels, actually begged me to shovel the manure into the bags they carried. I did, and with such gusto that I not only filled up their bags but also covered their clothes with the prize they were so anxious to take home.  Every time I dumped a shovel full on their shoes or pants, I said I was sorry, they replied, “that’s OK just keep on shoveling. Every manure hunter always knew when he scoped a prized specimen from an Elephant because the lump was just slightly smaller than a football.  Some where in my file of family photos I have a picture of my father with a bag of manure being interviewed by a Daily News reporter.  I know many of my readers have fond memories of doing something with their fathers, but I wonder how many of you have that special memory of shoveling sh.t into a bag being held by your father.

An Elephant Poem

Little birdie in the sky.

Please don’t  do do in my eye?

Boy am I glad Elephants don’t fly!