Riding Camels

It’s the "mystery" animal—at least to me.  A tall, gangly creature, the camel is able to withstand desert storms with its ultra tough skin, and long eyelashes that filter out the blowing sand; go many days without water, and walk tirelessly on large feet designed specifically for withstanding hot, soft sand.  A camel can carry large loads of cargo for great distances, as well as human beings on it's back.  And their versatility doesn’t end there.  They produce meat, leather, baby camels, and milk.  Makes me wonder what camel cheese might taste like.  Or a camel milk shake.  Maybe even some fresh, sweet camel milk on Corn Flakes.

Well, hellooooooo.

Check 'em out, buddy.  May I borrow your toothbrush?

The camel, not native in the land of my birth, is very much alive in my earliest memories.  The best of all Bible stories include this extraordinary beast who bore the wise men who brought the gifts to Jesus.  Nativity scenes nearly always depict these creatures in a place of honor, along with three wise men, two or three shepherds, several sheep, one lowing cow, one donkey peering into the manger, one Mary, one Joseph, and one baby Jesus.

But in that scene, it's the camel that gets me.  It's because I've never ridden one—and I’d like to.  I’ve unwillingly been the rider of a great horned Jersey cow named Pogey, thanks to some older brothers who thought it would be entertaining to set a little feller on her back.  I was just a little guy, and the horns terrified me.  The sharp appendages appeared as if they could inflict some real damage, and I didn't want to be damaged.  The fact that I can still clearly remember the incident, likely indicates some damage of the emotional sort.  But I forgave them long ago.

I've also ridden a donkey.  Not a very good proposition if one wants to get anywhere fast.   But speed notwithstanding, the donkey is a fine animal, with a personality much like a dog, and a raw, beautiful voice full of morning greetings—albeit, a voice that could use a little tuning and volume control.   And yes, it is also a beast of burden.   Gazing at photos of donkeys carrying amazing loads is baffling to the human mind.  It nearly seems like a scientific impossibility.  But there are the pictures, so it has to be true.

Just another day.

That's not the worst burden the lowly donkey must bear though.  It is quite possibly the most misunderstood animal in the universe.  “Stubborn.”  “Stupid.”  “Ignorant.”  “Ugly.”  “Antennae ears.”  “Mule.”  All these monikers attempt to describe one of the most intelligent, loving creatures that God has created.   And they’re all wrong.  First of all, this humble creature was chosen to carry Mary a great distance as she carried Jesus.  It took a careful, surefooted donkey to do this.   But that's just the start.  Let's go back to the name-calling.   “Stupid” and “stubborn.”  These words must go together into the abyss, because the donkey is neither.   The donkey is a creature of high intelligence with enough brains to be very cautious. This is very often misunderstood as being stubborn.  It is not.  Do not forget Balaam, whose Donkey was "stubborn" and saved his life.   Really, do not forget this.  If you are riding a donkey that is normally very obedient, and one day he refuses to go forward, and even pins your leg against a wall, please go back the other way.  Or if you're really brave or seriously lacking in intelligence, see if he will talk to you.  It has happened before.  Balaam gave his donkey a beating three times, and the donkey spoke to him.  Balaam spoke back, and the donkey responded back to him.  It was a human-like conversation going on there.  Name me one other animal that has ever done that.  I'm telling you, right there is an intelligence to be reckoned with.   And just to clear up the mule thing.  It takes a horse and donkey to make a mule.  Mules are sterile.  Mules cannot make mules.  It takes a donkey to make a mule.  Again, the lowly donkey does something no other animal can do.  The unfortunate term “jackass” is also misleading.  Technically, it is the proper term used to describe a male donkey.  The more common usage of the term has little to do with the four legged creature, but more to do with how an uncouth person might describe an individual who has greatly displeased them.  Certainly, none of the intelligent readers of these musings would ever do that.   And just one more note.  Some folks wonder what the difference is between a donkey and a burro.  No difference.  Burro is the spanish word for donkey.

And about right now it would be time to say something like, "but I digress", except that I find that term to be so worn out that I cannot use it.  So getting back on track, here we go.  

I have ridden a cow, a donkey, ponies and horses, but never a camel.  It is about time to do this.  As mentioned previously, the camel is a rather tall animal.  I’ve been astride tall horses in times past, and the ground seems to be quite a ways down.  Far enough to get hurt if one were to fall off.  But the camel  takes the height problem to another level.  It’s puzzling sometimes how you can stand beside something like, say a shed roof, and looking up, it doesn't appear to be very high at all.  But then you get up onto the roof and look down, and a strange phenomenon takes place.  Suddenly the distance to the ground has more than doubled.  It's really very discomforting.  Makes you want to hug the ladder and ease your way slowly back down until your quivering legs reach firm ground again.  Then you look back up and there it is again, back to a measly 10 or 12 feet.  What has just happened?  It's one of life's mysteries.   But see, that's what I expect may take place when I climb aboard a kneeling camel and it lurches to its feet.  Suddenly it will seem that the ground is twenty or thirty feet below, and I am trusting my life and limb to an animal that, without a moment’s notice, could take off across the desert and not come back for many days, and I would end up being a dried up pretzel stuck on it's hump, having been too terrified to make a leap from those great heights.  But it's a chance I will take.  Yes, I still want to ride a camel.

And now the rest of the story.  All these longings to ride a camel were precipitated by our planned trip to Israel in the fall of 2013—a dream that came true.  It was a “bucket list” trip.  Just visiting Israel was at the top, but the sub-list included riding camels, swimming (floating) in the Dead Sea, and walking where Jesus walked.  Also, spending time in Jerusalem, and visiting the Garden Tomb where Dad and Mom had been on staff for six months.  The next few writings may be a little longer as we take you along on the journey to Israel, and talk about our experiences there.  

I would like to acknowledge right here that many Christians have opposing views on the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.   I will not be joining in that discussion in these writings.  If you ever get the chance to go, don’t hesitate.  It is safe.  Really, it is, and it’s a wonderful experience.

And yes… we did ride camels while visiting Israel.  Sure, there are places right here in Ohio where one can go for a camel ride, but that just wouldn’t be right.  One needs to be in the lands where camels originate to get the full experience of taking a ride in a desert area.  If you want a horse and buggy ride, you wouldn’t go to the Mid-East.  You’d come right here to Wayne or Holmes County to an Amish farm to get the full experience.  Many do, and you may want to consider it too.  Such a lovely area, and we are blessed to live here.

Beautiful Amish farm on Jericho Road, just east of Kidron, Ohio.

From Kidron, Ohio, where the fall foliage is nearly at the peak of color, and the tourists are out in full force.  The pastures are very green again, and the trees and wooded areas are glowing with every shade of greens, yellows, oranges, and reds.   Get out of the house and view the wonders of creation if you are able, and have a wonderful weekend!  So long.