Embracing Zebras

About seven years ago I was first introduced to the idea of taxidermy. I'm from Kansas where the largest thing ever shot is a deer, and even then it probably wouldn't be worth the money to have it hung on the wall. My father-in-law, however, is a taxidermy animal (pun intended). I've never been hunting and probably never care to go, but when I first walked into my in-laws' home and then their farm I was shocked. A million animal eyes were staring at me. And not just the eyes you see on this continent. Giraffe eyes, elephant eyes, lion eyes. David had tried to explain to me that his dad was an African hunter, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw.

I fully admit that at first I was judgmental. Especially after David told me how much an African hunting safari and then returning home with stuffed animals cost. I still think the money would be better spent on feeding hungry people (although John says they eat all the meat they shoot or give it to the natives). I was sad for the animals too; their lives taken by a wealthy Texan to put in his trophy room. But as time has passed I've loosened the reigns a bit on my judgment. Everyone gets to choose how they spend money, and hunting is just my father-in-law's deal.

So you can imagine David's shock when I excitedly accepted the offer of a zebra rug for our living room. The Lisenbys have about 7 zebra rugs (yes, shot and killed in Africa and then flattened into rug form) in their house and offered to give us one. I just set it up in our living room and have to admit, I like it. It's funky and interesting. While Tommy Lisenby will NEVER be allowed to hunt outside the state of Texas or own a riffle, while David freaks out a little bit about our values being misrepresented by the rug, and while our neighbor asks us if the rug is a "real" zebra because as a fellow Kansan he has never seen anything like it, I am embracing my in-laws and the part of me that wants to have conversation starters in my home. One zebra at a time.