Elephants Approach

Early word on the street (or, you know, on the internet) is that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' annual Elephant Walk will take place early Tuesday morning, March 24, though most people would probably prefer to think of it as late Monday night, March 23. I've tried confirming this date, but every mention of Elephant Walk cites the same meetup.com link I've cited above. I'm still waiting for another independent source, even as I pencil this event directly on to my google calender tab. I'll keep you updated on any updates or time/place confirmations as I learn of them.

In the meantime, I recommend to you an excellent piece by Adam Gopnik, in the 22 Sept. 2008 The New Yorker, on the meaning of Babar the Elephant:

Yet those who would burn “Babar” miss the true subject of the books. The de Brunhoffs’ saga is not an unconscious expression of the French colonial imagination; it is a self-conscious comedy about the French colonial imagination and its close relation to the French domestic imagination. The gist of the classic early books of the nineteen-thirties—“The Story of Babar” and “Babar the King,” particularly—is explicit and intelligent: the lure of the city, of civilization, of style and order and bourgeois living is real, for elephants as for humans. The costs of those things are real, too, in the perpetual care, the sobriety of effort, they demand. The happy effect that Babar has on us, and our imaginations, comes from this knowledge—from the child’s strong sense that, while it is a very good thing to be an elephant, still, the life of an elephant is dangerous, wild, and painful. It is therefore a safer thing to be an elephant in a house near a park.

Also worthwhile is the magazine's slideshow of original art by Jean de Brunhoff, author of the first books of the series.

More Elephants

I mentioned in the comments section to my last post about elephants ("When I See An Elephant Walk At A Moderate Pace...." I would include here a link but you just need to scroll down about two seconds.) that one of the mini-linklets mentioned in that post deserves its own post. That post is now here. Here is the link again: here.

It is a link to a Google Answers question and answer sparring session. Some guy from India asks this question:

I live in the south Indian city of Madras (Chennai). I want to buy an
elephant. Where can I get one? How much will it cost to maintain? Can
I commute to work on it?

This is a serious question by a serious guy and he catches flack for it by Internet jokesters. The whole thing is really too good not to read. If anyone reading this doubts the greatness of the Internet, just keep this in mind: an exchange like this--bringing together serious Indian elephant-buyers and guys who sit on Google all day and make fun of serious Indian elephant-buyers--would not be possible.

When I See An Elephant Walk At A Moderate Pace...

I went last night to the middle of the town, right near the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, in order to look at some elephants. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus marches their elephants through midtown at around midnight once a year, every year, to transport these animals into the Garden in preparation for the circus. Seeing the elephants was kinda cool: even if I expected them to have more than ten. I was expecting at least two dozen, maybe even more. But I guess elephants are expensive. (This guy from India wants to know where to buy one. I applaud his creativity. Maybe the most worthwhile link I will ever post on this blog.)

The more cool part was hanging out in Midtown with other NYers who were very worked up about the elephants. Someone even started an elephant cheer that went like this: "El-e-phants! El-e-phants! El-e-phants!" I've never heard the word "elephant" so often in my life.

Sample Conversation:
Guy: Elephant, elephant elephant elephants elephant elephant?
Other Guy: Elephant? Elephant elephants, baby elephants elephants; Dumbo elephants elephant, Babar elephants elephant.

Another Sample Conversation:
Lady: I want to see the f-ing elephants!

Yet another sample conversation, this time taking the form of helpful advice offered by Etan:
Etan: Never get between a mother elephant and her young. You gotta trust me on this.

It is a special feeling to be united with other NYers, all galvanized by the truly worthy cause of: elephants.