Home » Snakes, Yaks and Bears, Oh my!
Snakes, Yaks and Bears, Oh my!
I just saw in the newspaper that Beyonce is playing Dorothy in the stage adaptation of The Wiz. It’s an adaptation of the Wizard of Oz with an all black cast that is a life long favorite of mine. The movie version had Diana Ross, Tipsy Russell, Quincy Jones and even a teenage Michael Jackson. Famously they encountered all kinds of bizarre (even drug induced) animals and enemies, but eventually figured out that their own inner strength made them overcome and yada yada and so on and so forth.
I only bring it up because, c’mon Wiz casting agent people, if you are looking for someone who can face weird new worlds and master strange animals and even befriend them, Beyonce is all wrong. First of all, she’s too big. I went to see the original The Wiz on stage with Stephanie Mills, who is no larger than a squirrel but has a voice so strong that would make Pavarotti dig in his pocket for a Vicks. Secondly, I know someone who has done it in real life and happens to be very small.
Yaya was made for Oz. And not the 100 foot stage with actors, but the population one billion, deep and exotic, elephants monkeys and chapatti Oz that we call India.
If you needed any proof, take last week as an example. Ya Ya looked on the side of the road and saw a bunch of snake charmers with a few of these.
Now your average person is intrigued, but keeps one foot pointed away from danger and keeps a common sense cobra buffer zone of at least 20 feet between them and the hooded snake. But Yaya, instead of running or recoiling, just did this…
and before you know it….
Not to be outdone, her brother swollowed his fears and managed this…
but since one snake is clearly not enough she nabbed another and went back to collect the cobra…
Even Leaf boy got into the action
As she walked away from the snakes that day she swooned and said in a dreamy voice, “Oooh I LOOOVE snakes!”.
Also did I mention that she played with a bear?
Got it to trust her by feeding it food.
Even got it to fall in love with her…
There is a picture missing here, the part where had to run over and take her hand out of the bears mouth. He had decided that he loved her so much he couldn’t let her go, and had caught her finger inside the cage. She screamed, I ran over and pulled her finger out (not really knowing if there would be any flesh on it) she cried and looked at her unbroken skin and perfectly fine digits, then petted him again. Lets you pull that one off miss Beyonce!
Then of course she rode a Yak.
So i am thinking that flying monkeys, evil witches and giant mutant puppets (you have to see The Wiz!) would be no match for this kid.
My other kids did nearly all the same things, but none with the same sheer willpower and fearlessness. love you Kiddo!
July 6th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Amazing brother. I hope that Matty and I get to give our children the same amazing life you and Rae have given your kids.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:05 am
Ah, she’s awesome!
July 6th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Love it! I want to play with those snakes and let my kids ride yaks.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I am sensing a children’t story here. I think you should write it. Yaya and flying carpets and mysterious adventures with all sorts of animals. Hmmm…. Way to go Superstar Kids.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Oh my, my kids just played on the trampoline today! I love reading all your stories!
July 9th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Ooohhh all those snakes! She certainly doesn’t have her great grandmother or her grandmother’s abhorrence of them. Her great grandmother has been known to stop being a nice 85 year old, and go after them with a garden rake when she sees them at her cottage. It’s quite the sight to see.
Love your pictures….Sounds like you all had a fun time. Bears, Yaks, snakes ……