That Blasted Jackalope

W-e-l-l.........Dubois has the "giant jackalope" that you can sit on and take your photo at a gas station there. Here are photos of the kids on this jackalope:

For those of you not in the "know"...and my blogger friend, JoJo: this is what a jackalope is:

The jackalope—also called an antelabbit, aunt benny, Wyoming thistled hare or stagbunny—is an imaginary animal of folklore consisting of a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope, goat, or deer, which is usually portrayed as a rabbit with antlers. The words jackalope and antelabbit are portmanteaus.

It is possible that the tales of jackalopes were inspired by sightings of rabbits infected with the Shope papilloma virus also known as Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, which causes the growth of horn- and antler-like tumors in various places on the rabbit's head and body.^[1] However, the concept of an animal hybrid occurs in many cultures, for example as the griffin and the chimera. Indeed, the term 'chimera' has become the categorical term for such composites within the English language.

Anyway, outside of that gas station, is a plastic or fiberglass or whatever jackaope as well. Of course, the kids wanted their pictures on it. Here are some of those photos along with a couple from the original jackalope inside as well:



Well, I thought, hey, I should get my photo up there too. So, I start to climb up, thinking I could flip my leg over just like getting on a horse. (Which, by the way, I have never ridden...so why in the heck would I think I could hop on this in that manner??) I must have been thinking I was very nimble and in shape..but ........I slipped and started falling. I knew I didn't want to fall on the barrier around the bottom of the jackalope, as it was wood...railroad ties, I believe, and that would hurt! So, I was trying really hard to maintain my balance and NOT fall....and I felt like I was flailing around in very, very slow motion. (Later they told me it looked like slow motion as well....!) Anyway, I finally lost it and landed in the highway...right in the lane of traffic (which I didn't even realize)...and head first. Ouch! I banged my head so hard! John and Tina drug me off the roadway, and immediately I had this huge bump on my head. It was horrible. But, I remembered that if you get an outward bump, that is what you want for a head injury...ouch, though! John said, I'll help you get back up for your picture. I said, I didn't care about my picture anymore. He said, Oh, I'll help you, so I got up on there, very very shakily. I got my photo, and grimaced thru my smile....


I don't even like the picture...ugh. But, oh, well, I got my picture on that evil, horrid, blasted jackalope. We went home where I sat around with an ice pack on my head all afternoon. I didn't feel sleepy, but John watched to make sure I didn't sleep. Who could sleep ... it HURT! Anyway, I had this huge bump on my head, and thought maybe I was elephant man or something. It progressed swelling some and I then became 'cro-magnum' man for a couple days. On the night of the second day, my eye had some slight purple around the side when I went to bed. When I got up in the morning, I had one heck of a black eye...and I mean one heck. Not to mention that I still had this bruising big old bump on my head. Good grief...I was a sight! Here is a slide show of the injuries: (as if you wanted to see these)....



Let's see, I am actually writing this post on Wed, July 29. This is the first day I have worn any type of eye makeup...I still have a purple half circle under my eye. I still have some purple lines on my eye. My head still has a bump and is bruised. I get a headache every so often, because I start stressing about it...wondering those what-ifs....I mean the story is funny, but there are a lot of tragic stories out there. I was lucky. No more riding strange animals for me....