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Folk artist Don Cochran's Art Gallery
Paintings, sculptured high relief murals, backdrops, folk art, fine art, landscapes, waterfalls, wall murals on canvas and other paintings by Georgia's Folk and Master Scenic Artist Don Cochran for church, business and home.
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In late fall, a carnival coming down from up north on their way to Florida for the winter, stopping off in our little town and set up right in the middle of that corn field all around me. Elephants, hippopotamus, giant snakes, sword swallower, fire eater, clowns and a gorilla.
One afternoon before the show started, I was at the gorilla's cage leaning on the rail about 4ft. from the cage, eating peanuts looking at the gorilla. There was a man cleaning the cage next to where I was. He was also the fire eater, sold cotton candy and other things. They worked hard.
The gorilla was sitting on a 50 gal. barrel with a hole in it,( where he did his business ). With one hand on the cage and with his other arm stretched through the cage as far as he could go with hand open and asked for a peanut. I reached in my bag, pulled out a peanut and dropped it in his hand.
He set back on the barrel opened it and ate it, never looking at me and reached out again for another one, but not stretching as far. I reached over and dropped another peanut in his hand. He calmly set back, and ate it and reached for another one not stretching at all. I reached over a little further and dropped one in his hand, he set back and ate it. And then he reached out his hand for another one, only putting his arm through the bars just above his elbow. I stretched further and dropped another peanut in his hand. He ate it and then dropped his hand out of the cage just below his elbow.Standing up on my toes, holding on to the rail, and stretching just as far as I could so I coud drop the peanut in his opened hand.
When my hand was over his, quick as a flash he grabbed me around the hand and pulled me into the cage bars, like catfish on a fishing pole,. About 4 or 5 times he yanked me into the cage and then dropped me like an old dish towel on the floor in front of the cage. The men in the cage next to the gorilla came through the door with a stick to hit the gorilla. But it was too late. I was hurt, with knots on my head, bloody nose, and felt like I'd been pulled apart. As quick as I could, I staggered away. The lesson learned. The good book says "don't cast your pearls before swine and your bread before dogs" and I will add "don't feed your peanuts to gorillas".
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