What in the world...

...possesses a goat to run away?

This is a story for animal lovers, and it struck me because i am wondering what was going through the goat's mind when it all started.

Curley the Goat, an Angora, was being unloaded at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, for the Christmas Eve Nativity Live service. Somehow her halter came loose as her owner, Jim Aakre, was trying to get the straw off of her and make her presentable for church.

She took that as a cue to run for it, and next thing you know, goat on the lam.

They searched for 3 hours, but Curley was long gone, and for the next 25 days they heard reports of her, but she seemed to have a wandering spirit and didn't stay long enough in one place to be caught.

Then, she turned up on Tony Loomer's farm, about 6 miles south of the city. He went out to feed his own horses and goats, and saw that he had a guest.

Curley was wet, cold, and had lost weight. When Loomer came close to give her some feed and see if she was friendly, she offered no objection and went into the warm barn when he led her there.

Jim Aakre and his wife, Karen, were ecstatic to have her back. Because it was too cold out for the still chilly and tired looking animal to ride in the bed of a truck, she got her first car ride. She rode home in style, in the back seat in Jim's arms.

All of this brings me back to wondering what in the world was going through the goat's mind when she decided to make a run for it in the first place.

Did she not like the idea of being at church? Did she know about the ancient practice of using a scapegoat, and she was afraid her time was up? Was it stage fright, maybe?

Well, we won't ever really know, but it makes me wonder why animals take it in their heads to run off at times.

No matter, really, now that Curley is back home. She had a miserable enough time, i think, out in the Minnesota winter, that she won't be trying it again any time soon.

Just to be sure, though, don't mention church to her again.


Today is:

Answer Your Cat's Questions Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; meditate on what your cat's question might be, then answer it

Celebration of Life Day

Dia de la Fundacion del Estado Pluinacional de Bolivia -- Bolivia

National Blonde Brownie Day -- i thought these were just called "blondies."

Seol-nal -- South Korea (Lunar New Year Holiday)

Spring Festival -- China; Taiwan (Chinese New Year's Eve)

St. Vincent's Day (Spanish martyr and Patron of winegrowers, schoolgirls, vinegar makers, and of Lisbon) - a sunny day today indicates a good wine crop next season

Tet Eve -- Vietnam

Unification Day -- Ukranian

Wellington Day -- Wellington Province, New Zealand (trad.; to be observed tomorrow)


Birthdays Today:

Steven Adler, 1965
Diane Lane, 1965
Michael Kelland Hutchence, 1960
Linda Blair, 1959
Steve Perry, 1949
John Hurt, 1940
Joseph Wambaugh, 1937
Sam Cooke, 1935
Bill Bixby, 1934
Piper Laurie, 1932
Ann Sothern, 1909
George Balanchine, 1904
D.W. Griffith, 1875
Grigori Rasputin, 1869
Nat Turner, 1800
Lord Byron, 1788
Sir Francis Bacon, 1561


Today in History:

The first contingent of Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican, 1506
Postal service between NYC and Boston is inaugurated, 1673
The Native American Iroquois tribes renew their allegiance to the British against the French, 1690
Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain, 1771
A severe earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands, 1837
The Zulus attack the British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa, 1879
The Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" is erected in Central Park, 1881
After 63 years, England stops the sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series, 1901
First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury, 1927
KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California, 1947
Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space, 1968
The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service, 1970
The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued, 1971
The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial, 1984
Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm, 1990
Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 2002
Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president, 2006