Little Earthquakes : Grumpy Rabbit

I was listening to NPR yesterday, the documentary on Foreclosure City. They were of course referring to Las Vegas. As they calmly described the state affairs...how the fire alarms beep from not having anyone around to replace the batteries. And the dogs and cats, abandoned and scrapping for food. How the mosquitos had taken over the dirty pools—the smell in the air from the rotten water. And finally... the people, desperate to keep their homes, and the extreme actions they are taking... I couldn't help but think about my rabbit, Dakota. 

I know what you're thinking...what does a rabbit have to do with a stinky city, that has tragically kicked hard working people out of their American Dream? Well, guess what? I'm in mood to tell you and he needs to laugh a bit at himself. So here we go. 

Dakota works steadily on the perfection of he and Mrs. Bunny's Cottontail Cottage home (see image above). Yet, the little macho rabbit goes through his own version of foreclosure almost daily. 

He is in constant home improvement mode. He moves the house where he likes it, he naws on the entryway to make bigger holes to jump through (and for Mrs. Bunny to fit through because she's big). He even takes down whole walls and refills them with the right size wall pieces for their style of living. He's very busy, a very busy rabbit; especially at night. He moves food into strategic corners of the house, he organizes the toys, he even lowers the roof on occasion. 

And here's where things get dicey. When giant rabbit, that would be me (his version of me is our version of Aunt Jememiah) comes in to "fix" the roof he's just mastered in perfecting it really pisses him off. 

In fact, it's an earthquake of grand proportions. He growls at me hard, he even lunges at his girl rabbit...he's a bully, he flies into an uncontrolled rage and then pouts and glares at me the rest of the day. Wow...all I did was move the roof so it wouldn't cave in. But for him, I've shaken their security, I've thrown a dent in his pride, I've shown him he's not boss. I am the big Kahuna...the bad bunny god...the evil bank people with the power to undo dreams and hard work. 

I listened to the Credit Specialist talk about her back to back appointments with people trying to save their houses. People too old to go through a life re-invention at this point and desperately clung to their pride and joy, the love, the work, the sense of accomplishment owning their homes. She said 75% of the people she's trying to help should just let it go. They are getting buried. But they won't. This is home for them. This is what many spent their lives pursuing. They will fight for it.

And he, like the good people of Las Vegas cling to the American Dream, he clings hard to his version of Great Society of Rabbits Dream. And who could blame him.

While there are no immediate answers for people who are upside down in their homes or on the street. I'm gaining a great deal of respect for the force of change. The earthquake of it's arrival, the shock of watching the structure we hung our hopes on, dissolve. And the slow unlearning of the touch points that created security and creation of new ones. 

When it comes to Rabbit Society, I'm learning the axis where emotion and reality come into conflict, and when it comes to them, it's best to approach change gently, playfully if possible. Because I'm telling you...you do not want to get chewed out by a tough little proud rabbit like Dakota. 

It's best to give him a job somewhere else and sneak in change while he's not looking. 

As so often happens in life anyway.

• • •

Dakota: How dare you make me green in the picture. 

Me: Sometimes you are green.

Dakota: Sometimes you are mean.

Me: No Dr. Suess for you this week.

Dakota: Case in point. (mean)

Comments

[Susan Flint]

As usual, brilliant and thoughtful writing.

[David Leikam]

"HaHa! Lovely reading, as always and a nice twist on the state of human. Perhaps, rabbits should be constructing the infrastructure. Overseen by Dakota personally, of course. Great form and ending too."