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The Almighty and the Elephant
NOTE: This pursuant to a recent discussion of matters of ultimate concern with my eldest brother, for whom I have a great deal of admiration and affection.
If reincarnation were valid, I would like to come back as an elephant.
They’re the biggest land animal, exceeding the hippopotamus (2nd largest) and the rhinoceros (3rd) in both height and weight.
An African male elephant, somewhat larger than his Indian cousin, may stand 8–13 feet high at the shoulder and weigh 4–7 tons.
The elephant temperament is gentle.
They’re family oriented, tending to their young and injured with diligence and compassion.
They have prodigious memories.
This is legendary, and allows an elephant matriarch to remember where to dig a water hole in the earth when there is no water on the surface and the herd needs it to survive.
And, when their time on Earth is over, they go off to a secret place to die.
They’re innominate, except for the few times (in a nod to Walt Disney) we dub them with a name like Dumbo.
But the name is a misnomer.
Dumb they are not.
Elephants are amongst the smartest members of the animal kingdom.
