Saturday Soapbox: Stubborn, My A$$

OK so I thought to myself, everyone’s entitled to their soapbox once in a while – so I’m thinking once a week I will get on mine here on the blog. On the mini forum I visit regularly there was just a post about pet peeves and it was pretty interesting… in fact, I even learned a few things. Maybe I can return the favor from my soapbox…

Now this one isn’t really a big deal, but because I love my donkeys so much, I hate to see them labeled negatively. One of the FAQ we get, having donkeys, is…

AREN’T THEY STUBBORN???

Well, it might seem that way to YOU, but in reality, no! What donkeys are is SMART. What donkeys are is SELF-AWARE. What donkeys are is SELF-PROTECTIVE. They have to be to survive in the wild and even domesticated donkeys still have that instinct. So when we ask them to do something, and they’ve never done it before, they like to consider it a bit first, to make sure that (a) doing it won’t hurt them, and (b) doing it won’t get them killed. Seems like a good idea, doesn’t it, now that you think about it? And by the way mules, being half donkey, definitely inherited that instinct!

Case in point: We took several donkeys to church to be in the Christmas Eve pageant. The idea is for the donkeys to enter the church, walk through the narthex, down the center aisle to the front of the church, and exit stage right… sounds simple enough, right? However one important factor you have to understand is that between the outside and the inside of the church, the footing underneath the donkeys changes about half a dozen times. Grass to concrete to the door mat to tile to different color tile to carpet… you get the idea. And of course every change is something TOTALLY NEW to the donkeys. There is a VERY good reason why we come an HOUR early to practice! The first trip through the church took over 20 minutes, including several repeats of the following scenario:


Person: “Come on, let’s go.”

Donkey walks until the footing changes, then stops.

Person: “Come on, let’s go.”

Donkey: “I am NOT stepping on that and you can’t make me”

Person: “Oh come on, I’m walking on it, it’s fine”

Donkey: “I am NOT stepping on that and you can’t make me”

Person: “Come on sweetie pie, it’s just fine, mommy (or daddy) will be right here and I will take care of you”

Donkey: “I am NOT stepping on that and you can’t make me”

Person: “Look, your friends are doing it! And they are leaving you behind!”

Donkey: “I am NOT stepping on that and you can’t make me”

Person: “If you walk with me I will give you a cookie!”

Donkey: “I am NOT stepping on that and you can’t make me”

Person: “Oh yeah, watch this”

Donkey then tries her best not to move an inch while one of us is physically pushing her from behind while someone else gently and patiently (lol) guides her with the lead rope… hey, another subject idea for a future blog – how to lead a donkey!

Eventually we did get them all through the church… so back outside we go to try it again. The second and third time took maybe 2 minutes to walk all the way through. Hey, been there done that!!!

So remember, DONKEYS are NOT STUBBORN – PEOPLE are IMPATIENT!

And this was our second Christmas Eve pageant at the church – the donkeys are a big hit and we are expected – ummm, I mean invited! – back every Christmas Eve for as long as we have donkeys. Which I can guarantee you means that any time you are looking for us on Christmas Eve, we will be in church with the donkeys!! And yes, we have to dress up too!
Out front when we first arrived:

Wayne and baby Moses
Betty Lou getting love
During the pageant:
Me and Becky Lynn and yes, Randy coming behind with the broom and dustpan!

Here are a few pictures from 2006... the camels had another engagement and couldn't stay long this year so we didn't get pics with them the second time around. They are so cool I wanted to get them in here!

That's Betty Lou and Susie Q with the camels in the background