a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

Dear Henry, Have you ever seen the White House? I've gone by it several times but have not seen any presidential pets. Speaking of pets... We both know  President Theodore Roosevelt  was quite the character, but I think he stands out as a presidential pet owner. During his presidency, the White House was a zoo and, briefly, was the home of a hyena named Bill. Bill was a gift from Ethiopia's Emperor Menelik II in 1904. Despite President Roosevelt's dislike of hyenas (he thought they were cowardly), he eventually grew to love the hyena, feeding it table scraps and teaching it tricks. Finally, however, the hyena grew too large for the White House and was moved to the National Zoo. Other unusual pets owned by the Roosevelt family include a chicken named Baron Speckle, Bill the lizard (to distinguish from Bill, the hyena), a garter snake named Emily Spinach, and Josiah, the badger. A bear, Jonathan Edwards, was also a brief member of the family before he also became to...

Dear Henry, I have been totally enthralled by the news surrounding the "Storm Area 51" fiasco that is supposed to take place this Friday.  But only because I have been to Area 51 and Rachel Nevada and only because I can't imagine this turning out in a way other than comical. If you haven't heard about this yet, let me fill you in. Back in June, a college student created an event on Facebook called "Storm Area 51: They Can't Stop All of Us" as a joke.  Only everyone decided to attend....right now, there are currently 2 million or so people who plan on attending.  Fearing the worst, Matty Roberts (the student) began coordinating with Connie West, the owner of the Lil A'le'inn in Rachel, Nevada, to host a festival. But that partnership has come to a close, with Matty Roberts now calling the party off and throwing a party in Las Vegas.  Connie West, however, is still planning on a potential party, however, just in case. If you do decide t...

Dear Henry, The recent storm we have had has caused havoc with the area birds. With so many trees down, many have found themselves homeless and searching for new places to live. For example, a wren ( formally of the strawberry planter, I think ) briefly thought about moving into our bathroom. I say briefly because, as you may remember Henry, I have three cats. Fortunately, my girls are far too chubby to be great hunters and I found the bird before anything bad could happen. The next ten minutes or so was quite the adventure, as I, standing in my bathtub, attempted to open the window next to the bird and quickly remove the screen (snort, screens never come of windows easily), all without any fatalities. It was very loud. Ziggy, attracted by the yowling of the girls and the squawking of the bird, added his own brand of mischief by encroaching into the girl's space, sandwiching them between the bird and himself, and then barking at them all. It seemed like an etern...