Trafficking exotics
One would have to argue that I have had some rather hilarious experiences in life. Much of it comes from a love of travel, a tendency to risk take, be slightly blinded by enthusiasm until it hits me in the forehead, and want and need to collect freaky, eccentric, and anywhere from slightly to extremely unstable people. The other week was just such an adventure; and, oddly enough, involved a-ha. As many of you know (or have just learned like the majority of people in the US), a-ha broke up in 2010 after a twenty five year history together in fits and starts. Quite by accident, I discovered that they never had another hit in the US after their super single "Take on Me", did some internet searches, met some people, etc. When they announced their break up, we, the US a-ha fan clique, was disappointed and saddened. One thing that we loved to do as a group was to have a weekend together. In the host city, we would arrange a tourist activity or two to do, have a party, share our thoughts and feelings on the matters a-ha once a year thanks to the coordination of our host. We had not been able to have a fan meeting since 2007 due to the economic crash, and then of the horrible news of a-ha's ending. And after living in the doldrums of sadness and inertia for five years, a-ha announced that they not only would be playing at the Rock in Rio festival in September of this year, but would have a new album to accompany it as well as some new concert dates in 2016. But I digress from these factoids, as they are relevant in that I had not seen or talked to any fans save for the occasional Facebook interaction a few times a year. One of my beloved fan friends, W, announced through social media postings that he was going to be in Ohio for a few days in March from his native South Carolina. Semi spur of the moment, I decided that since he was somewhat close, I would drop everything and see him.
W and his friend D were staying at a small chain hotel in Wooster, Ohio. For those of you who have never heard of this place, Wooster is a small town located roughly fifty miles south of Cleveland and about thirty five miles south of Akron, nearly two hundred years old. It is a rather quaint small town complete with town's square and specialty shops that make it look like something out of rural central casting. Known primarily as the town that boasts residence of the College of Wooster, it has a population of about twenty six thousand people and was named after David Wooster, a general in the American Revolutionary War who originally hailed from Connecticut. It is surrounded primarily by rolling hills and farm lands, a sprinkling of houses here and there, and, as one may or may not expect in such an area in Ohio, rural problems which have arisen in the last several years. Once it was farmland which housed farming people and occupations only, then it became the rural problems that exist today, which include meth labs and other city problem oddities which spread to the rural folk and included the Amish around them. Those factors aside, since I had not seen W in five years, I decided to travel to said place and have a catch up with him.
What brought W and D to this location was, as everything else tends to be around me, a rather odd errand. W and D breed, raise and sell peacocks and peahens in their spare time. They had driven up to Ohio as the laws having to do with exotic animal trafficking are more lax here than in their native South Carolina with about fifty of them in their truck. Most had been sold at an auction earlier that day. Of this I was fascinated. Exactly why would someone want to buy a peacock or peahen? According to research, nowadays people raise them as pets. One who has a house upon rolling hills or countryside often times has peacocks roaming their lawns as a colorful ornament to their decorative growth (shrubs, ponds, flower beds, etc.). Peacocks have always been enjoyed for their bright colors and decorative appeal, but were eating birds as well since ancient times. Since the sixteenth century, however, the eating of peacocks was forgone since the importation and introduction of the turkey from Mexico to Europe. Turkeys proved to be much heartier and meatier, although peacocks and peahens are still eaten from time to time today. Apparently peafowl are tasty like pheasants or Cornish hens, the gamier chicken.
I was in the middle of Amish country, drinking McDonald's coffee, having become an accessory to exotic animal trafficking. Yet another strange day.
W and his friend D were staying at a small chain hotel in Wooster, Ohio. For those of you who have never heard of this place, Wooster is a small town located roughly fifty miles south of Cleveland and about thirty five miles south of Akron, nearly two hundred years old. It is a rather quaint small town complete with town's square and specialty shops that make it look like something out of rural central casting. Known primarily as the town that boasts residence of the College of Wooster, it has a population of about twenty six thousand people and was named after David Wooster, a general in the American Revolutionary War who originally hailed from Connecticut. It is surrounded primarily by rolling hills and farm lands, a sprinkling of houses here and there, and, as one may or may not expect in such an area in Ohio, rural problems which have arisen in the last several years. Once it was farmland which housed farming people and occupations only, then it became the rural problems that exist today, which include meth labs and other city problem oddities which spread to the rural folk and included the Amish around them. Those factors aside, since I had not seen W in five years, I decided to travel to said place and have a catch up with him.
What brought W and D to this location was, as everything else tends to be around me, a rather odd errand. W and D breed, raise and sell peacocks and peahens in their spare time. They had driven up to Ohio as the laws having to do with exotic animal trafficking are more lax here than in their native South Carolina with about fifty of them in their truck. Most had been sold at an auction earlier that day. Of this I was fascinated. Exactly why would someone want to buy a peacock or peahen? According to research, nowadays people raise them as pets. One who has a house upon rolling hills or countryside often times has peacocks roaming their lawns as a colorful ornament to their decorative growth (shrubs, ponds, flower beds, etc.). Peacocks have always been enjoyed for their bright colors and decorative appeal, but were eating birds as well since ancient times. Since the sixteenth century, however, the eating of peacocks was forgone since the importation and introduction of the turkey from Mexico to Europe. Turkeys proved to be much heartier and meatier, although peacocks and peahens are still eaten from time to time today. Apparently peafowl are tasty like pheasants or Cornish hens, the gamier chicken.
I was in the middle of Amish country, drinking McDonald's coffee, having become an accessory to exotic animal trafficking. Yet another strange day.
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