I Heard a Herd of Camels

It seemed innocent enough. I created a "camel noise" by squeezing my nostrils closed (as camels are famous for doing in sandy conditions) and emitting a loud snort with my head turned towards the sky. My first wife and I thought it was hilarious. (Well, maybe only I did.)

To celebrate this talent, she bought me a small ceramic figure of a seated camel--with two small packs containing, as it were, salt and pepper. Cute. I set it on a shelf at home.

Well, that's when the herd started forming. I found a camel here, a camel there. There were Camel cigarettes promotions, books about camels, posters. One Christmas/Chanukah holiday, I received nothing except camels from my relatives and friends. It was getting WAY out of hand. We even had a cute stuffed camel (Mr. Camel) who "talked" to our baby and had a position of honor on the sofa.

Before long I had a three-tier shelf bursting with camels of all kinds. If I had not separated from my wife a few years later, I might still be adding to my collection.

That original camel sits today in my kitchen window. Most of the rest are packed away. However, a couple of days ago I ran into a wonderful ceramic camel teapot at Molly Stone for only $14.95 and was tempted to start the whole thing over again. I have resisted (so far).