Dana Hamby
Writing 1
Mr. Cannon
Two 10-Minute Bunny Meditations
SATURDAY
4:00-ish
I can’t help but slouch a little in the heat. Bunny maintains astonishing posture in the sun. He’s got people to look good for: the couple armed to the teeth with clunky camera gear; the two faculty women with a flatbed of flowers—whoop, there goes a hose attachment of some sort—anyway, one of them gathers it back up as they head off away from Bunny. A woman, whom the flower women pause to talk to, alternates between eye contact with them and the sweatless sun-worn back of Bunny.
It’s hard to believe he could stay so deep in thought in so hot a sun. Oh God, but that cool breeze is nice. Maybe he’s thinking: “Why do so many kids have rolling backpacks? They appear to be more trouble than they’re worth.” Or: “That damn noisy A/C machine outside Mallinckrodt—iPod! That makes 31 this afternoon.” Or: “Six Asian girls; look how their legs walk in unison.”
He’s staring at something. I can’t tell what from here. Maybe the West Face of Olin?
Bunny subtly composes himself for the solitary beauty strutting softly through the trees, out from under the overhead banners and into the sunlit central sidewalk crossing at Bunny’s feet. Two boys dressed in hey-ladies summer attire throw a Frisbee ahead of themselves across the lawn. The damsel doesn’t notice, doesn’t bat an eyelash. It’s just too hot to care.
SUNDAY
4:00-ish
Someone was taking pictures of Bunny from various angles as I walked to sit at my favorite vantage point. I figured out what he’s looking at. On that West wall of Olin, interrupting a wrapping row of floor-to-ceiling windows is a lonely section of brick. It got me to thinking maybe is gaze has simply fallen upon the one most out of place architectural feature around him. People-watching does get redundant after awhile.
It’s windier today. I can’t feel it where I’m at, but I know Bunny can. Out there in the open. The Undergraduate Research Symposium banner is flapping more wildly today, too. I noticed that? That’s how dull this afternoon is, I guess. Today, four Asians are wearing strappy sandals—no, that’s not an iPod, Bunny, so you don’t count that one.
Sunday’s forecast: cloudy, 60s and 70s, with a few—wow that kid’s pants are pulled up high. And his shirt is a dazzling turquoise plaid. I’ll bet Bunny has his favorite characters, you know, students and faculty he keeps an eye out for. I do.
(A girl is doing the same assignment as me on a concrete bench near the chapel. She’s more distracted than I am, I think. She keeps scratching her legs and looking behind her as though nothing’s going on. Nothing is going on, which should give her all the more reason to write.)
That banner twisted itself up. There’s no breeze at the moment, though, so it’s stuck advertising: “Und (…) ium.”
Maybe Bunny wonders: “Did they put that brick wall up so people in the library wouldn’t feel like I was staring at them?” I’m going to go spank him so (that girl) has something fun to write about.
Actually, you don't have to revise this. It's just transposed straight out of my notebook, and it's for some grander assignment I've got to do in a couple weeks. Thought maybe you'd want to climb inside my head for twenty minutes, though--how was it?
Oh and that bunny in the picture is the exact bunny that I was writing about, by the way. Wash U bought it a few years back and put it outside of the Mallinckrodt student center.
Posted by: Towel at March 25, 2007 6:02 PMcool assignment. Is the sculpture called Bunny? He looks more like a human rabbit.
thoughts that come to mind when looking at this picture are:
this bunny looks like a leader of some advanced bunny race or bunny army.
he is so good at bucking bronco that he is showing off in taunt pose.
his body looks like gumby.
That bunny looks like a minotaur.
Posted by: rob at March 26, 2007 4:44 PM