Musings on a Donkey, and Shakespeare
The world is full of such interesting happenings that it is a wonder people ever get bored. All they have to do is to follow at least one funny news incident a day and life will be the better for it. Take for instance this incident in Colombia. The police there have arrested a donkey named Pacho, after a motorcycle crashed into it, with the motorcyclist sustaining serious injuries. Why, you ask? Well, what happens when there is an accident? The vehicles are impounded, that’s what happens, so the donkey had to be taken into custody. And to be fair to the donkey, the motorcycle has also been impounded till the case is concluded.
But still, arresting a donkey? That’s going a little too far! What would they do, I wonder. Read out the Miranda rights to it? Rather tricky too for any attorney representing Pacho. Major communication problem, I’d say! At any rate, it gives animal rights' activists something more to think about and do.
Ok, I can hear you mutter, that is just what the world needs, another donkey arrest. But hey, think of it as a comic relief amidst life’s endless tragedies. At least, I personally find it funnier than the Act V Scene 1 comic relief in Hamlet. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see what is amusing about musing over a skull, with a few thee’s and thou’s thrown in for good measure. The idea of a comedy was vastly different in Shakespearean times than it is today, I suppose. I mean, ever read his so-called comedies? I don’t have anything personal against Shakespeare, as so many others I know seem to have, but somehow his comedies don’t just seem funny. Midsummer’s Night Dream for instance – the only thing funny about that is Bottom, the weaver. Come on, admit it, at least the name is funny, if nothing else is. Or the other play where everyone impersonates everyone else – I don’t remember the name of that one – was it All’s Well That Ends Well or As You Like It…well, no matter. The point is I have tried, believe me, but I simply couldn’t find anything funny in any of his comedies, and have since concluded that a Shakespearean comedy is a play that is not a Shakespearean tragedy, which by the way is simply a play where everyone drops off the stage like flies by the end of Scene V, either by getting killed or by committing suicide, but with enough time, either way, to finish an elaborate soliloquy.
But I digress. I started talking about poor Pacho. While I certainly find the arrest of Pacho a comic relief, there is the point of view of Pacho himself to be considered. The poor animal hurt his legs and his owner Nelson Gonzalez is caring for him in the impound yard at Arauca. The proverbial second side of every coin – one man’s comedy is another donkey’s tragedy. Oh, now I get it…Ophelia’s tragedy was the grave digger’s comedy – so that is how Scene V Act I in Hamlet is a comic relief! Finally, thanks to musing on Pacho’s predicament, I have unwittingly matured enough to be able to appreciate the fine sense of humour that Shakespeare has so subtly woven (and so superbly disguised) into his works!
I hope Pacho gets released soon. I suspect I am some kind of an animal rights' activist myself, and it pains me to see an injured animal being impounded for no fault of his. At least, that is what Gonzalez says. He was in front of the animal and the motorcyclist saw him. So, no one, says Gozalez, should try and pin the blame on the donkey. Apparently, it is ok to pin tails to donkeys, but not tales, especially when the said donkey is allegedly blameless.
But still, arresting a donkey? That’s going a little too far! What would they do, I wonder. Read out the Miranda rights to it? Rather tricky too for any attorney representing Pacho. Major communication problem, I’d say! At any rate, it gives animal rights' activists something more to think about and do.
Ok, I can hear you mutter, that is just what the world needs, another donkey arrest. But hey, think of it as a comic relief amidst life’s endless tragedies. At least, I personally find it funnier than the Act V Scene 1 comic relief in Hamlet. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see what is amusing about musing over a skull, with a few thee’s and thou’s thrown in for good measure. The idea of a comedy was vastly different in Shakespearean times than it is today, I suppose. I mean, ever read his so-called comedies? I don’t have anything personal against Shakespeare, as so many others I know seem to have, but somehow his comedies don’t just seem funny. Midsummer’s Night Dream for instance – the only thing funny about that is Bottom, the weaver. Come on, admit it, at least the name is funny, if nothing else is. Or the other play where everyone impersonates everyone else – I don’t remember the name of that one – was it All’s Well That Ends Well or As You Like It…well, no matter. The point is I have tried, believe me, but I simply couldn’t find anything funny in any of his comedies, and have since concluded that a Shakespearean comedy is a play that is not a Shakespearean tragedy, which by the way is simply a play where everyone drops off the stage like flies by the end of Scene V, either by getting killed or by committing suicide, but with enough time, either way, to finish an elaborate soliloquy.
But I digress. I started talking about poor Pacho. While I certainly find the arrest of Pacho a comic relief, there is the point of view of Pacho himself to be considered. The poor animal hurt his legs and his owner Nelson Gonzalez is caring for him in the impound yard at Arauca. The proverbial second side of every coin – one man’s comedy is another donkey’s tragedy. Oh, now I get it…Ophelia’s tragedy was the grave digger’s comedy – so that is how Scene V Act I in Hamlet is a comic relief! Finally, thanks to musing on Pacho’s predicament, I have unwittingly matured enough to be able to appreciate the fine sense of humour that Shakespeare has so subtly woven (and so superbly disguised) into his works!
I hope Pacho gets released soon. I suspect I am some kind of an animal rights' activist myself, and it pains me to see an injured animal being impounded for no fault of his. At least, that is what Gonzalez says. He was in front of the animal and the motorcyclist saw him. So, no one, says Gozalez, should try and pin the blame on the donkey. Apparently, it is ok to pin tails to donkeys, but not tales, especially when the said donkey is allegedly blameless.
Here's where I read this news item by the way.
