Making Friends
I couldn't believe how scared these kids were of the birds. A little later another girl, probably around twelve years old, came by and she was afraid to touch them as well.
I'm pretty sure they weren't worried about the avian flu, so what was it? When I was a kid I never got many chances to touch a bird, but I don't think I would have hesitated if given one.
The photo of the little boy touching Klee's head is a little deceptive. The kid touch Klee for a split second and jumped back. Later Klee flew up and tried to land on him. That was a lot of fun.
I made a mental note to myself to make sure that when I have kids they are going to have exposure to many kinds of animals from a very young age. I feel bad about my lack of experience with nature when I grew up in Michigan, but I can't imagine growing up in Tokyo where the only wildlife are crows and pigeons.
Comments
Kevin, If you go to Nissin supermarket (formerly Meat Rush) near the Azabu Juban crossing, you will find an advertisement on the second floor of a beautiful parrot that an expatriate-leaving person would like to give to a bird lover. I saw that the other day, and I think the ad should still be there.
Posted by: Daphne | April 16, 2004 07:02 PM
My girlfriend is also scared of birds, as is her mother, and a number of other Japanese that I've met (mostly women as far as I know). I have no idea why this is, but I also found it very interesting.
Posted by: UltraBob | April 17, 2004 01:00 AM
Hiya,
A clue as to why SOME peeps are 'fraid. The avian mind is predatory, our mammalian instincts shudder even though they're only six inches high. Pigeon or eagle the damn things are T-Rex evolutionised!!
Back when I used to own one I saw it all explained on the teevee! It must be true!....Though the evidence does for once actually seem to substantiate the claims. Avian teeny weeny's are giant reptillians approximately 210 million years later.Birds can scare me too when I see the reptile in em.
Enjoy Golden week. Some friends are coming from Tokyo to visit UK and Spanish soccer matches. Update us on Shikoku, but don't do all 88 temples by foot pilgrim! (Or bike!) I didn't see ANY when we were there, but the castles were pretty good. 'Cept for Uwajima....it was about as big as my apartment block...
Jah guide
Rasta!
Posted by: Rastafarout | April 18, 2004 10:09 AM
Exposure to many kinds of animals...a fabulous idea. When you have kids...I hope you do! Check out my post today on child brain development.
Posted by: Denny | April 19, 2004 12:40 PM