2 Hobos & A Leopard

After the tea party on Thursday morning, Hannah, Grace and I headed out to the Oregon coast. We went to visit my brother and his wife who moved recently to Bay City, OR. On the way, as we drove along highway 26, chatting about life and letting Gracie sleep, our attention was diverted to the side of the road. At first, we were puzzled... it looked something like this:

2 men were walking along the shoulder and they seemed to be holding up a leaning tower of some sort. No, maybe, a cart of goods? Well, maybe all their belongings on a pushcart? Oh my goodness! What's that on top? A wild animal of some sort!? What are they doing!!?... Oh! It's "two hobos and a giant stuffed leopard!"

Now, we're talking GIANT. I really thought it was an animal at first. I guess it's the sort of thing you might see at a carnival or something, the type of prize no one is ever really able to win, but draws small children toward the games. This stuffed animal could have eaten several small children.

Hannah and I, though truly puzzled, dissolved into giggles. She then said, "I keep trying to remember to put a notebook in the car just for such times. This is the perfect thing to blog about, but of course, I'll forget." So, I promptly pulled out my little notebook from my purse and scrawled, "2 hobos and a leopard" across the top of a page. She started laughing again and said, "Now, you know you're going to forget all about that and next time you get into your purse, looking for your grocery list, you'll burst out laughing." She's probably right. But, the best comment of the day regarding this situation was, "If I wasn't just a little bit scared of those men, I'd stop and take a picture!"

Since then, as we told our family and friends about the strange sight, we each pondered several questions.  Where were these men going, walking far between any two real towns? Where were they coming from and why would they have such a silly stuffed creature? What makes certain possessions of ours so important to us that we'd be willing to cart them precariously along with us where ever we go?

So, although we were unable to get a picture of the lovely sight we encountered, I managed to find this picture on the internet. Seriously, this is what it looked like, perched atop various other items, black garbage bags and a pushcart.