Sure, I have a rabbit, his name is Harvey. Jimmy Stewart passed him on to me when he died; he said that he would need a great deal of care, time, and affection. Great, I thought, just what I need, a greedy, needy rabbit. I already have one needy, greedy mate, two needy greedy dogs, three needy, greedy goats (one is currently being over socialized and will join us shortly), four needy, greedy ponies, and five needy, greedy chickens. The numbers, they do seem to follow in succession.

But then I got to thinking about it, what’s one more needy, greedy animal? It would just have to learn to wait its turn when it came time for attention, affection, and food. All the other animals figured this out, so a rabbit could learn to do the same.

Becky's crew painting the fair garden newspaper box

Rabbit arrives, rabbit accompanies me just about everywhere. I keep quiet about rabbit, and I limit my conversations to when others aren’t around. I do not want to be committed to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute – this would be most inconvenient. None of my animals are bona fide service animals. I’d probably be able to take the rabbit with me since he’s not visible to non-believers. Just believers like me and Saint Francis.
Now this is the really cool part about this rabbit – I can pull hats out of him. There are the literal hats, of which I have many, these don’t count because you can’t pull visible hats out of an invisible rabbit. I tried and this does not work. I can, however, pull the figurative hats out of him. As in, look at what I am doing now. No mumbo jumbo hocus pocus, just pure and unmitigated sleight of hand activity.

This is what I picture when I pull off what beforehand, I see as near-impossible feats of daring do do.

An example – Pete and I were sitting around in my friend Becky’s backyard – we were picnicking on a typical overcast Alaska day. I says to the two that I have this idea, I’d like to get some of the newspaper boxes on the Alaska State Fairgrounds, during the upcoming fair. Becky says “good idea.” Pete didn’t say anything, but I, who am adept at reading his mind, knew what he was thinking, which was “your projects become my projects. Undoubtedly, he was not wanting to shlepp around any more boxes than he saw as being absolutely necessary.

So I went mum on the subject. I tried really hard to put the hat back in the rabbit, but the rabbit would have no part of this.

So, with hat in hand, I went where no outreach coordinator has gone before. I asked Becky, and she agreed that I could put a newspaper box in the Eckert Garden. She said that her crew would paint it. I next asked the ASF exhibit and vendor coordinator if I could put the box in the garden, noting that Becky was for it. She said that would be fine. Pete, dear soul, he did schlepp it over there.

I then asked the Recycling Center Volunteer Coordinator if I might have a box on site, at the recycling center information booth. She said sure. Then I asked Bill, the Bright Lights Book Project Distribution coordinator if he might take the box (which is in Sutton) to the recycling center booth – he agreed to this. Now what remains – I just have to ask the Sutton librarian if I can borrow a box for the duration of the fair.

Only one hat came out of my rabbit because this was all he thought he had to spare. I know he has others, but I will, out of courtesy to him, just take one at a time.

Next: 218. 8/8/21: Serious Rain