Maybe an Orang Utan

Childhood dangers in India…
Jessica: We had to be careful not to get sick, Delhi belly or dysentery.
Rowan: Animals?
Jessica: Oh yes. Cobras. There was one on the corner where we caught the bus.
Rowan: Every day?
Jessica: Sometimes. It was a snake charmer’s. And one day there was a monkey up the tree in our garden.
Rowan: Wild?
Jessica: It had escaped from the zoo next door. I was going out the door and it was up the tree looking at me. I backed inside. The servants took care of it. 
Rowan: They caught it?
Jessica: They called the zoo people and they came.
Rowan: What kind of monkey?
Jessica: Maybe a specialized monkey. It was orange. Anyway, I missed the school bus so Mom wrote a note saying it was because of the monkey.
Rowan: A feasible reason. Sounds like an orang utan. An ape, not a monkey.

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Voice-over
Orang utans are apes, and tailless, unlike monkeys. Orange-brown, living in densely foliaged trees, so maybe not needing darkly pigmented skin like gorillas for UV protection.

A sulky cat

What about ME?

A cat chat…
Alice: She’s usually very affectionate and friendly. However, yesterday, I had some guests over for lunch and I locked her in the bedroom so she wouldn't escape outside. After the guests left, she seemed really annoyed and didn’t stop flicking her tail for an hour. 
Zaha: Cats can be quite sensitive to changes. They don’t like having their routine upset for one.
Alice: Yeah, she’s a creature of habit.
Zaha: And she might think guests coming in are invaders of her territory. Bringing different sounds and smells.
Alice: So I could have introduced her to them, you think?
Zaha: That would help. You have to adjust to cat behavior speed.
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Voice-over
So introduce her to the guests then later put her in her favorite room, with some treats as reward. Some cats like attention.

Destressing at School

Dean Erik meets Vice Dean Siri…

Erik: Student Affairs reports more students seeking counselling.

Siri: We’re deep in the semester. How about a de-stress event?

Erik: Like?

Siri: Yoga and meditation sessions. Art workshops. A music concert. Teach animal massage.

Erik: Animal what?

Siri: I have a friend who specializes in animal massage. Dogs. Cats. Rabbits. Helps the animals and the handlers feel more relaxed too.

Erik: Great. And we could draw them in with free donuts. Kremes I have a contact in there.

__________

Voice-over

Not so many came for the yoga, more to hold the animals, and the line for the donuts stretched way out down the corridor.

Plant and Animal Feelings

On cooking and chasing...

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Josella: Plants must feel sorry for animals.

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Bill: Why?

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The Bridge of Screams

Josella: Animals have to keep moving looking for food. Plants can just stay in one place and make their own food.

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Bill: But maybe animals feel sorry for plants. Animals eat plants. They can’t run away. Someone once asked me, “Can’t you hear a lettuce scream when you slice it up?”

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Josella: I heard that question way back in the 1960s.

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Bill: So do animals feel sorry for plants?

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Josella: Extreme vegans, like at Level 5, might.

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Bill: Extreme vegan? What is a level 5 vegan?

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Josella: Someone who never eats anything that casts a shadow.

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Voice-over

Plants are sessile, they don’t move. Animals are motile, they move. But if the objective is to propagate the species, both are successful. Plants spread their seeds by wind, and by animals. As a life form plants are mobile. They don’t care about the individual as long as the species flourishes. Animals invest more personal drama and mobility in reproducing. They resist perishing, as if their personal survival is linked to the perpetuation of the species.

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