Rhino Farts
Seyia, the eastern black rhino. This photo was taken shortly after she farted in my general direction.
Near the end of October on a warm and beautiful Autumn afternoon, I took myself on a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo. The zoo that I have loved since my infancy was in a weird transitional period, being both in the middle of their Halloween festival, but also actively decorating for their far more popular holiday celebration, The Festival of Lights. For most of the afternoon, the trip seemed rather in consequential. Most of the outdoor birds were not on display due to an ongoing avian flu that had ravaged populations across the country for most of the last year. Several of my favorite animals were off exhibit including the vampire bats, aye ayes, and red pandas. The new enlarged black bear exhibit (replacing a decades old smaller one) was still under construction. Unknowing to me, the zoo’s rescued and rehabilitated manatees were sent back to Florida, leaving their exhibit (a quiet large tank) wanting for its new inhabitants.
There was one pair of animals out and actively moving: a mother and son pair of eastern black rhinos. The smaller male named Ajani Joe was born two years prior to his mother, Seyia. In my many trips to zoos across the country, you never know what kind of rhino behavior one might encounter. With the addition of a calf (even at two years), the variability rises even more. On this particular day, I was treated to Joe being slightly adventurous and foraging a few feet from his mother, while Seyia stayed nearby keeping watch and occasionally foraging herself.
I have observed animals both in zoos and in the wild for decades. To secure the best photographs, one has to be patient. I am not sure what tipped Seyia to my location, perhaps it was a subtle shift in the wind or perhaps some involuntary movement of mine, but with a mouth full of food she turned her head and looked strait towards me. Quickly evaluating me, the rhino turned around and proceeded to fart in my general direction. It was in that moment that I realized that I had been presented with the perfect metaphor for the year.
Proposed Definition:
Rhino Farts: A perfect moment ruined. To experience something that is truly amazing, only to have it ruined in a demeaning manner.
I stepped into this past year with high hopes and big plans. Holding my cat in my arms, I watched the clock count down knowing that this was going to be a year of change. Things would be different this year. The past is in the past, it was time to move on. Little did I know then that the year would prove to have less than desired results.
I should take this moment and acknowledge that there were many, many wonderful events that occurred this year. I worked with so many amazing people that I would not have ever dreamed of actually working with. However, for every high there was twice as many lows. As if the universe not only wanted to keep me in check, but to stab me a little as well to remind me who was in charge.
Even the longer, ongoing events often would become plagued with varying forms of slights, setbacks, and/or individual tragedies. The rehearsal and production process of my show “Banned from Heaven, Barred from Hell” is an excellent example. The show was completely re-written more than once, but that is not entirely unusual for me. However, once we started in earnest, my wallet was lost (originally presumed stolen) which spurred the freezing of all my finances. The ability to regain access to said financials took weeks to remedy. I lost an actor right as we finished blocking the show (to which she amazingly found an equally talented replacement). There were non-existent reviews and a tentatively sold-out final performance cancelled due to covid.
Setbacks aside, I still consider the production of “Banned from Heaven, Barred from Hell” a wonder. We were able to put this amazing production together to which I found genuine joy in watching over and over. Audience members who saw the show would come up to me months later to ask questions and share their theories of what happened at the end. (Which was my goal all along.) I worked with people that I have loved and admired for years. And not to make this all about me (but this is my blog), but the cast gave me a birthday gift. I feel like it’s been years (decades?) since someone that wasn’t my parents gave me a birthday gift. The mug sits on my desk, next to the screen as I am composing this right now.
Rhino Farts: A perfect moment ruined. To experience something that is truly amazing, only to have it ruined in a demeaning manner. This it the definition that I would propose for this phenomenon. For every good in life, there is always someone or something willing to pass gas and forever alter the moment in one’s memory.
This is where you might think I would wrap this up. Leave you with the assumption that in my opinion, this year was abominable and despite all efforts, things will not get better. And truthfully, there was a lot of unfortunate things that happened to me this year. I won’t name names or specific situations at this moment, but I hope that if you are reading this and know that you have done someone wrong this year, that you consider making amends or reaching out to them to start, at minimum, a conversation. Things were not great, but since the “rhino farts” moment in late October, things have already begun to turn the corner.
I have teased this through various forms of social media, but never officially announced, but I have created a new touring puppet show called “Trolls, Trolls, Trolls.” It premiered at the Cincinnati School of Creative and Performing Arts back in late November. Creating this show has re-ignited my joy in performing for children. As I have fine-tuned the show in the weeks following, I have realized that I can create the touring shows that I would have wanted to see when I was a kid. Classic stories of adventure and lore, mixed with a little bit of absurdity. Look for more information about this soon.
I have also started to re-connect with people. This sounds simple, but please understand that I have spent most of the last three years in total isolation. The most common exception being when I was cast in a show or other similar performing production. I have grown to miss humanity. With all its faults, I still believe that humanity as an untapped potential for good.
So now, months later, as the year comes to a close, I look at “rhino farts” a little differently. Yes, one can take it on its face value as I had done for several weeks. A perfect moment ruined. However, now I look at it from a completely different stance. I experienced a rhino farting in my general direction, can you imagine how incredibly rare this must be. How many people can say that they have been close enough to a large rhino to hear (and arguably smell) it’s flatulence? I would argue not many.
This year may not have gone the way I hoped. There is certainly a great deal of things that I would have changed. There are decisions (personally, professionally, financially, emotionally, and socially) that I wish that I had made or not made this year. However, it all culminates in an experience that we call life. This year may have been a lot of things, but it was always unique. I couldn’t have survived this year without the help of my friends and family.
When I look back, this year may be remembered for a great multitude of different things, but it will always be remembered as the year of the “Rhino Farts.”