i used to collect tails.

growing up in the desert climates of what is now known as the city of angels (previously known as mexico), i've met a lot of lizards in my time. to be honest, i was a lot more intimate with their tails than with the actual lizards themselves, but what can you expect out of a seven year old on a scorching hot day?

when we weren't doing terribly dangerous things to ourselves, like sticking metal poles into electrical sockets while wearing our mom's dishwashing gloves, or hitting gunpowder filled pellets used in cap guns with our dad's hammers, my friends and i would climb around in the hills behind our house and capture lizard tails. i remembered learning that a lizard would always grow itself a new tail and that starfish arms always grew new starfish, so it made obvious sense to me that lizard tails would grow new lizards.

of course.

we'd trek around with our jars, grabbing any terrified lizard that crossed our path and watch as they scuttled away with their dismembered, wriggling tails in our grasp. i had a tray in my backyard where i kept the lizard tails along with tiny dishes of water and little bits of what i imagined could only be lizard food and waited for the lizard to grow. despite my repeated failures, i figured at least one of them would survive long enough to get me a new lizard.

sooner than later, i got distracted with my new pillbug collection and gave up on the failed lizard venture. i never grew myself a new lizard and it was always so disappointing to watch the lizard tails die off.

but in the end... it hasn't stopped me from collecting tales. <9.14.00>

 

 

 

previous rant | newer rant | current weblog

all words (c) filmfatale industries 2000