Elephants and other thoughts

I like elephants. I'm going to put up a picture of a baby elephant over at my sister blog, Capybaras United. In the meantime, here are some fun elephant facts from elephant.elehost.com:

• Elephant trunks can get very heavy. It is not uncommon to see elephants resting them over a tusk!
• Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories, and laugh!
• Elephants are sensitive fellow animals where if a baby complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
• Elephants have greeting ceremonies when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group.
• Elephants grieve at a loss of a stillborn baby, a family member, and in many cases other elephants.
• Elephants don't drink with their trunks, but use them as "tools" to drink with. This is accomplished by filling the trunk with water and then using it as a hose to pour it into the elephant's mouth.
• Interestingly, the Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to the African elephant (see evolution).

D has a blind friend who is in the civil service; he visited recently with his wife. They're going to be in Thailand for two years, and his wife told me about how you can ride on the back of elephants there, but apparently the trainers are mean to them, so I wouldn't support the riding industry. They do have an elephant sanctuary called Elephant Paradise, which I'd like to visit. It's run by a woman who rescues elephants and then she pampers them :)

I'm waiting for D to get home from Long Beach. He likes to bike out there. It's a fun beach. I taught two classes today and picked up a banana nut soy bundt afterward. They're quite yummy. Tuesday through Friday afternoon, D will be in Chicago. He invited me along but explained he'd be in business meetings most of the time, so I declined. The guy in charge booked one suite for three guys, including D. D is hoping he'll get his own room.

This reminded me of when my high school band went to Disney World and the conductor economized, putting four people of the same sex in a room with two beds. The girls complied, sleeping two in a bed without complaint (though my best friend at the time kicked in her sleep and I got bruises on my legs :( The men, conversely, refused to sleep together...I remember being in one of their rooms. Two boys took two beds, another slept in the bathtub, and another put a pillow and some blankets on the floor. Sheesh.