The Elephants On The Hill

These are the elephants on the hill. Mark Cline, the local artist who created the hot dog man from yesterday's post, made them last year. My husband took little Ella up the hill to see them. Being afraid of heights and having a bad knee, I stayed at the bottom and snapped them with a long zoom. You can see our red car and the view of the city down below. One elephant has a man riding it. This is Hannibal, the historical military commander who marched across the Alps to the homeland of the Romans with 37 elephants. Why? An elephant was the ancient equivilant of a tank, and could cause great destruction with their tusks and trampling opponents. Their smell and noise scared the men and horses. There were no elephants anywhere around that area, and to this day, no one knows where Hannibal got the elephants. It is one of the great mysteries of history. Down in the city, we could look up, see those elephants, and smile. They were whimsical and wonderful, something that gave our small city interest and color. There were favorable comments from as far away as Germany. But in our midst were people who would ruin it all. A small group of townspeople complained and wanted them removed. The town was divided into two groups: for or against the elephants. The small group of nay-sayers won, and the elephants were taken down and driven away. The picture in the paper was a sad one, because in order to transport them, the artist had to cut their heads off. There are always people who want to spoil things for others. I feel sad for these people, because it seems they don't know how to get any joy from life. Their misplaced joy is trying to control and conform others. But the elephants live on in these pictures and in the minds of many, and will live to be gazed upon again in a place where they are more welcome.

"Oftentimes, when people are miserable, they want to make other people miserable, too. But it never helps." Lemony Snicket

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..."Philippians 2:14