As the song, As Time Goes By, says A Kiss is Still A Kiss. Or is it? There are all kinds of kisses. The slobbery kisses of a puppy or the scratchy lick of kitty are loving gestures to their humans. A butterfly kiss from a little child with a flutter of eyelashes to your cheek is just precious. And who can forget when you were passionately kissed by someone you love or loved, when your knees buckle, and you fall into a swoon. All of this is true, but there are still many other kinds of kisses in the world.
When you travel to the Galapagos Islands, you experience one of Earth’s most unique places. It is truly the peaceable kingdom where animals and man can coexist without fear of one another. I experienced this during my visit. I decided to spend some quiet time on the beach and do some sketching. I sat crisscross applesauce among 20 or so seals that were scattered around the beach taking naps and sunbathing. They were only a few feet from me. Nowhere else on Earth could you do this.
I happily was sketching the seals and was in the zone not paying too much attention to what was going on around me. Then I suddenly felt something bristly encircle my knee. I looked down and a baby seal was touching my knee with its nose. I was being kissed by a seal. I sat there is shock, and the little guy scooched by me and nestled in the sand a few feet away falling immediately to sleep. Mother did not seem to be around, and the other seals paid no attention to us. I then sketched my new friend. When I left the beach, I took more than my sketches. I took a priceless memory of my sweet encounter with the baby seal – I got a whisker kiss, and it made me swoon!
There is a Giraffe Center in Nairobi, Kenya, where you can have a close encounter of the tall kind. A staircase takes you up to a wraparound deck to meet the giraffes at their level. Giraffe kibble was available to purchase to feed them. I wonder if Purina made them for the giraffes as they make many kinds of animal kibble – imagine bags of giraffe kibble among cat and dog food.
The giraffes were ready for a treat. Luckily for me there were not many people there, so I got lots of attention from the giraffes wanting their goodies. You could feed them by hand and pet their patterned faces. They have big, beautiful, brown eyes that are like mirrors where you can see yourself. If you are more daring, you can place a piece of kibble between your lips, and the giraffe will take the kibble from you. I did just that. Their big, soft, floppy lips gently touch my lips as they took the kibble. I was being kissed by a giraffe -What a sweet memory for me from Africa.
Finally, my family was on vacation at the Jersey Shore near Atlantic City. My Father wanted to go fishing. It was a terrible day, cold and rainy. We went on a fishing cruise that took us to a nearby inlet to fish. Dressed in giant yellow slickers, we casted our fishing lines into the choppy water. Hours passed, I really mean hours, and no one caught a fish. It was a long afternoon when suddenly my Father caught a tiny shark about 6 to 8 inches long. (As the years passed, the shark got bigger with each retelling of the tale.) It was a perfect shark in miniature.
Since the book and later the movie, Jaws, I have always been terrified of sharks. Intellectually, I know sharks are necessary to the ocean ecosystem, but emotionally, they can eat you. Right before my Father tossed the shark back into the water, I asked him to give it to me. I was going to face my fear. In my hands I was holding a SHARK! Its skin was like sandpaper, and it was thrashing a bit. I am sure it was just as scared of me as I was of it. Right then I decided to plant a big kiss on its head and send it on its way. Off it went into the deep blue sea. Now, I am still a little afraid of sharks, but my new fear is the shark will return to kiss me. I don’t think there is a sweet way for a shark to kiss you. Duuuunnnn duun…
Mary Ann
Silver Sage Sisters 