GOING TO THE RANCH

With Angel on my mind, I head out to the "Ranch".  Begin to get nervous, there are only guys at this ranch and I do not know them.  Decide to do a drive-by first.  The place doesn't look too spooky, so I decide to drive down the long driveway.  I am greeted and lead over to a very, very large cage where I see the baby chimpanzee, Sosa, clutching a doll and rocking back forth, like an autistic child.  Given instructions to not at any time put my fingers through the cage, as  Angel or Sosa might decide to bite off a finger.  When the cage door is unlocked, Sosa  flies into my arms.  I am told that Sosa is the grandson of "Ham" the first astrochimp into Outer Space, who paved the way for Sam Sheppard to become the first American into space which ultimately led to the Moon landing.  It seems that "Ham" had to pull a lever some fifty times during his mission, and performed his duties to near perfection.  I also learn about the Air Force Chimpanzees who are now warehoused at the Coulston Foundation living under terrible conditions and being subjected to outrageous experiments.  I am told that the chimpanzees  live in small cages for the duration of their lives which is about forty to fifty years and that the place smells.  This is so shocking! Can not rid myself of the image.  Sosa was so lucky to have escaped that life.  However, was to learn later through research that Ham had no offspring.

We take Angel and Sosa to their tree house.  Just then a young girl shows up with her mother making enquiries about volunteer work with Sosa and Angel.  We all  sit together and watch Angel and Sosa play.  When Angel takes Sosa into the playhouse with her, the owner asks me if I want to go up and join them.  I decline, feeling that I would be intruding.  However, the young girl decides that she would like to visit.  Well, as soon as she sticks her head inside the playhouse, what a commotion from Angel who becomes  hostile and the young girl practically tumbles out of the tree.  Needless to say that was the end of any desire to volunteer and mother and daughter drive off.

Sosa and Angel come down from the tree house and we all lay down on the grass side by side.  Angel runs her hand up my pant leg as if  looking for something.   Is this her way of saying that I have been accepted?   It is now time to put Sosa and Angel back in their cage, however, when Sosa is put back in, he screams for me with arms outstretched.  It is too pitiful; so  I ask the owner to please, please  let me spend more time with him.  The cage door is unlocked and  Sosa flies into my arms once again. I spend the afternoon with him playing "follow the leader" with Sosa as the leader, of course.  He gives  me discreet backward glances to make sure that I am following him.  It really impacts on me that Sosa is not an animal, but like any other human toddler, no different from my niece who is the same age.

The next weekend, I drive back up to Ventura, it is about a three hour drive from where I am staying in San Clemente. This time I go for a walk with Angel and while we walk she is picking up sticks. She finds a particularly heavy stick and hands  it to me.  What does this gesture mean?  Is it her way to say, do not worry about me having a stick, because you have a bigger one or here, you might need to protect yourself.  When we return, the owner quickly takes away Angel's stick and admonishes me for letting her carry a stick which he says she could quickly turn into a weapon.  I suppose that is true, but why would she want to strike me?  I was always taught by my riding instructor to trust my horse.  I think the same applies here. I mean a horse can kick, but a horse will not intentionally kick you to hurt you if there is a bond.   Not for one mille-second did I feel threatened by Angel and her stick.