**I really should be doing my homework but I have this blog in my head that just wont go away no matter how hard I kick it, so here goes nothing.**
We've all seen nature shows on television. Animals in the wild doing what mother nature intended. Some of what is filmed makes a person go all googly with doe-eyed cuteness, other parts makes you cringe and fear for the poor beast about to be eaten. I've come to realize that, after my numerous years observing from behind my safety barrier, humans have not come that far from their wild, instinctive nature. We are all still connected to our uncivilized beginnings.
Tonight there was a party at work. Just your typical office party that involved both sexes and an enormous amount of alcohol. I was bartending this party and suddenly envisioned myself as a film producer of nature shows. I saw the show run through it's entirety. Let's start at the beginning after the title sequence.
The party started at 6 pm and shortly thereafter the first customers arrived. I am going to refer to them as a lion pride as there were a couple of males and mostly women. The lion pride entered the building cautiously, scanning the rooms and making a beeline for the den (bar). Once in the den, they settled down and put claim on the area. Some even marked their territory with scent or fur. They socialized with each other, drank, and was happily co-inhabiting the den. Then another pride entered the building. This second pride also entered in the same fashion as the first but this was different! They could sense the first pride was already there but they had not seen them yet. The second pride lingered in the entry area nervous about entering the den. Suddenly the first pride caught wind of the intruders and sent a scout out to investigate. The scout apprehensively rounded the corner and when the second pride was spotted, the scout puffed up his chest. It reminded me of the rutting process in deer- puff up chest, raise head, lower eyes, and try your damnest to intimidate the other. Then when the other pride essentially rolled on their backs in submission the scout relented and allowed the second pride to join the first. Both prides greeted each other with the typical pouncing, and butt sniffing, and circling. This process happened repeatedly until all the customers had arrived.
Cocktail hour finally over and it was time for dinner. At this point the crowd had turned into one big pack but the alpha leaders of each separate pride were still evident. Each pride member knew their place and waited until the alpha's had entered the dining area before they did. Each member took to their seats and began to feast. But soon there was discontent amongst the prides. Lower members of the pride headed back into the den (bar) to voice their disapproval of the alpha leaders. These low ranking pride members started to band together and start a pride of their own. Occasionally others from the original prides appeared and pleaded with them to come back. Some took heed to their companions pleas and returned to their original prides. The others turned their backs to their former pride mates and embraced their new "family". This new pride had no leader, no direction, no way to survive. A few tried their hand at being the alpha leader but anarchy soon followed.
At this point the new pride lost a few members as they went running with their tails tucked between their legs back to their old pride to beg forgiveness in a hope to be re accepted. Some were not so lucky and these soon became the outsiders. The outsiders were rogue lions that would infiltrate pride groups in the hopes to break away pride members. The rogue lions took control over their new subjects and dictated their actions. Mostly this was just to drink more or to dance to a certain song the dj was playing but the similarities to animal behavior in the wild had me laughing my ass off.
The night ended with the alpha leaders and their prides leaving shortly after the dinner. All that was left were a few rogue lions and their subjects. This is when the mating rituals began. You can imagine how that went. Alot of show and pomp with some snarling and snapping thrown in there for good measure. A few relented and that was quite an uncomfortable situation for me. It's like a car wreck....you don't want to look but you just can't help yourself. Plus I was stuck behind my safety barrier that consisted of three feet of wood and not much more.
In the end all the lions returned to their home dens and I was left with the clean-up. And this blog stuck in my head. Funny...These people were all doctors and nurses with massive amounts of education behind them but they just cannot deny nature. I only wish I actually had a camera with me.
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