Easter’s right around the corner. Oh boy! Bring on the bunnies!
Bunnies are so-o-o cute and cuddly. Bunnies are soft and allegedly gentle. But … bunnies become rabbits and that’s the problem.
Not the problem visited upon the hapless folks in a small Arizona town invaded by 1,000s of mutant, carnivorous killer rabbits in “Night of the Lepus,” a 1972 imagination stretcher sci-fi movie.
Nope! This is a real live problem … “Invasion of the Bunnies,” Reno, NV style.
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We know about “The Rabbit Habit” … not the nun, but the habit of a “whole lot of you-know-what goin’ on!”
Here’s the problem … bunnies are the third most purchased pet … mostly at Easter … and, they’re the most commonly dumped … in all their fertile and unfixed glory.
Add to that factoid … thanks to ingenious Nevada State officials who thought it would be “calming” for their mental patients to have bunnies hopping around a Reno facility … 40 rabbits were imported to roam the grounds.
Cool and kind for the patients … bad for the town … none of the rabbits were “fixed.” Violà … Bunnygeddon!
Lord-Gawd-Almighty wouldn’t ya know it? Them thar rabbits did what rabbits do best.
They multiplied like rabbits … about 18-30 bunnies per female per year.
Boom! That’s the sound of a veritable explosion in the family Leporidae … within Reno’s city limits.
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Attempts at control have been disappointing.
When bunnies become rabbits, they lose their fuzzy appeal. Let’s see … would I rather adopt a cuddly kitty, a playful puppy or a carrot chomping rabbit? Unfortunately there just aren’t enough “takers.”
Some old-timers are none too pleased with the catch, “fix” and release attempts. Their right to bear arms and protect their private property has become a “cause de celebré.” They want adult rabbits to “roll over and be dead” … not play dead.
Others prefer the “Mister or Ms. Rabbit Go for the Midnight Ride of No Return.”
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To date, the best estimates of feral rabbit gangs roaming the Reno streets at night … eating anything and everything and fornicating in public, number in the thousands.
Meanwhile, Reno city officials seeking help to “fix Bunnygeddon,” face a control problem estimated at millions of dollars … not to mention a throng of rabid PETA-philes waiting for the first Reno authorized “bunny shootout.”
I can hear their frantic call for help … “Carson City, this is Reno. Carson City … we have a problem. I repeat … we have a problem.”
Just sayin’ …
Amazing how these absurdities fall into your lap. You chose your blog topic wisely as you’ll never run out of subject matter.
Hi Gail … Thanks for reading … Yep, my blog topic was actually the brain work of my wife, Mari … we talked for a few days about what I wanted to say, my approach, the way I viewed life’s little (and big) foibles. We played around with a couple of iterations & she hit it outta the park with, “Seriously Absurd.”
And, you’re right … every day provides me with an absurdity that I can take “seriously … or not.” It’s gotten hard to keep up!
Yes, the bar for absurdity has been raised considerably. Or lowered? A matter of perspective. Easter blessings to you and Mari.
Once again my pal “Hippity-Hoppity Huss” has produced what can only be called an educational MUST READ!
Who else but Herr Huss knew about this?
I, for one, was firmly of the opinion that “Bunnies” could only be found on the pages of a certain men’s magazine or serving drinks at semi-ritzy (and sometimes shabby) clubs in Chicago, New York, L.A., and even – GASP! – St. Petersburg, FL!
Still, more research seems in order so I’m off to YouTube to re-watch the Jimmy Stewart classic, “Harvey.”
Good work, Richard!
Thanks for reading, TL … I thought about working “Harvey” and Jimmy Stewart into the blog but couldn’t do it. Besides, i liked the idea of “killer bunnies” better, hence “Night of the Lepus.”
Just be careful in VB that you don’t slip and fall on an “unfound” Easter egg as you waltz around town.
Tune in for more absurdity …