Friends

I have great friends! Everybody ought to have some. And my friends just have to know that I love giraffes, and collect them (because I tell them). Some of my great friends have given me giraffes.

Yesterday, I looked out the window to check the mail, and there was an oblong package on the porch. It was from a great friend of mine in North Carolina. When I picked it up, I knew what it was - a giraffe (see the picture above)! I have named this giraffe Sharon. Isn't that a nice name? It fits this giraffe, because the name and the giraffe show such elegance. It really made my day.

The natives of Africa have a belief that God made the giraffe with such a long neck so that he/she could look over the edge of the earth and see where the sun went. This giraffe is doing just that. And I believe that she is also announcing, "Here it comes again!" Sharon gives me hope for the new day.

My shelves are covered with giraffes of all shapes and sizes, from less than a inch to over a foot. Each one is very special, and many of them remind me of my friends who gave them to me. I have 23 giraffes that stand by themselves that are made of wood, brass, leather, ceramic or cloth. One is made from the root of a tree. I have two giraffe clocks, a giraffe candle, a giraffe picture frame, three giraffe pictures (one is a photo I took in South Africa and one is drawn by an artist friend), a giraffe magnet, a giraffe mouse pad, and many giraffe greeting cards. Below are some of my giraffes that share space with my books, and below that a single shelf on the wall that holds some of my friends. I am holding two (my latest one and a tall one made of leather) that stand on a chest of drawers in the corner of my office. I even have a VHS documentary on giraffes that a friend taped and gave to me. (My wife has a giraffe on one of her purses, but I am NOT going to carry that one.)

I hope you enjoy my giraffes, and if you visit me, I will gladly show you around. (Click on the pictures to make them larger, if you wish.)