Episode 17: The True Story of Elephant's Disappearance

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast. As many of you know, Elephant was reported missing in the local Mountain Ear newspaper a couple of weeks ago. But, we at the Carousel of Happiness, need to set the record straight on a few things. Turns out they got some details wrong. On today’s episode, you’ll hear the true story of Elephant’s disappearance and what actually happened that night.

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The Carousel of Happiness is a nonprofit arts & culture organization dedicated to inspiring happiness, well-being, and service to others through stories and experiences.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider visiting the Carousel of Happiness online (https://carouselofhappiness.org/), on social media (https://www.facebook.com/carouselofhappiness), or in real life; or consider donating (https://carouselofhappiness.app.neoncrm.com/forms/general-donation) to keep the carousel and its message alive and spinning 'round and 'round.

If you have a story to share, please reach out to Allie Wagner at outreach@carouselofhappiness.org

Special thanks to songwriter, performer, and friend of the carousel, Darryl Purpose (https://darrylpurpose.com/), for sharing his song, "Next Time Around," as our theme song.

Transcript

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast. I’m your host, Allie Wagner. 

On last week’s episode, I spoke with Boulder-based animal communicator, JoLee Wingerson, who has communicated with animals on behalf of humans, and vice versa, for almost 25 years. She offered some powerful insights into our spiritual relationship with animals, and we learned what animals really want us to know. Plus, JoLee gave my two mutts their very own reading, and I told you the story of when my husband brought a 7-week old puppy home without telling me.

And it’s a good thing we talked to JoLee when we did. Because we used her advice on how to communicate with animals big time for this episode. As many of you know, Elephant was reported missing in the local Mountain Ear newspaper. But, we at the Carousel of Happiness, need to set the record straight on a few things. Turns out they got some details wrong. On today’s episode, you’ll hear the true story of Elephant’s disappearance and what happened that night.

Let us begin with today’s story.

GONG

It wasn’t John Callahan who was the first to notice Elephant was missing last week. That’s the first sign the Mountain Ear article was a hoax. John Callahan wasn’t the first to notice; Rebecca noticed the elephant was missing the night before.

You remember Rebecca, right? She paints the animals and operates the carousel and the front desk too. You likely know her from the podcast episode I did with her about the Accudetox clinics she hosts at the carousel. Episode 7, check it out. On Fridays, 12 - 1 and Mondays, 5 - 6, you can receive a special type of community-based acupuncture directly from Rebecca in the carousel that’s proven to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, cravings, withdrawal symptoms, the whole nine yards. And it’s free.

And that Monday night, after everyone from Accudetox had gone home, Rebecca was cleaning up tea mugs and little pamphlets by herself, getting ready to leave. Normally, she had Mark’s help packing up, but Mark had to run back to their house because their dog, Packer, had accidentally locked Mina, the cat, in the bathroom. Which normally wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but Mina got her hands on someone’s cell phone and was blasting Steely Dan from behind the locked bathroom door. Which, turns out, was too much Steely Dan for Rebecca’s teenage granddaughter.

So Mark went home to do the “dirty work,” so to speak. And address the Steely -granddaughter situation, while Rebecca stayed to clean up the carousel house. Alone. 

Being alone in the carousel house is, hands down, one of the most special experiences I’ve had in all of my life. The lights are dim, the animals are still. There’s no band organ. No squealy, giggly kids. Only stillness. Only quiet.

And it's from this place of stillness, of quiet, you can feel this hum of energy underneath. A buzzing, a tingling, a vibrating. Something you sense is always just beneath the surface, but the quiet allows you to sense it better somehow.

It’s sort of like what they say about the desert, I suppose. You look out on a desert landscape and there appears to be no life. But then you look closer or squint your eyes in such a way – when you adjust your filter differently – all of a sudden, a previously barren landscape brims with life. The moment you change your perception is the moment the world you perceive changes.

And the carousel after hours is sort of like that. You take away some of the “here and now” sensations, and you can access the “here and now and forever” sensations. The ones meditators talk about, or musicians talk about. Those ephemeral sensations that suggest something beyond what we can see and hear in this present moment.

I’ve found that in these moments alone at the carousel I often see flashes of light out of my peripheral vision. Or I notice quick movements out of the corner of my eye, but when I turn to see what moved, I miss it.

And I’m guessing that might happen to Rebecca too, which is why she didn’t immediately notice the elephant was missing. But, then, all of a sudden, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and then turned her head and…

Elephant was gone. 

Vanished. Out of thin air. She was there. 

And then, she wasn’t.

And Rebecca didn’t call the Police Chief. That’s another error in the newspaper article. Primarily, because Ned does not have a police chief. Or a police, for that matter. It’s a long story. 

Rebecca first called Mark, who was still trying to eradicate all classic rock from the bathroom, but was having no luck. It looked like Mina might be “reelin’ in the years” alone in the bathroom for a while. She somehow used the pads of her paws to unlock the phone and was now playing a Yacht Rock playlist. If you are not sure what Yacht Rock is, ask your nephew at CU. You might be surprised; the two of you might have more in common now than you think.

Rebecca hung up the phone. She knew Mark could handle the Yacht Rock situation on his own. She called Scott next. He didn’t pick up.

And neither did Melody, our boss. 

Or board president, Charles Wood.

No one was answering their phone. 

It looked like we would need to get help from the animals on this one. 

Rebecca came out to the front desk, switched on the lights and found me there, slouched over my laptop. I was trying to come up with an idea for the podcast the following day, totally at the last minute of course, but she hadn’t seen me there because the lights weren’t on. 

You see, when I work alone at the carousel, I never turn on the lights. Primarily, because I always forget where the light switches are. And someone else is going to come in eventually, and they seem to always know where the lights are, so it’s totally fine. I can wait.

Which is what happened to me that night. I was hunched over my computer, typing in the dark, and Rebecca turned on the lights and found me there. Like a troll. 

She tells me that Elephant is missing and, sure enough…she is gone. Like how do you misplace an elephant? That’s a lot of matter, a lot of mass, to displace.

But, she was indeed gone. And in her place were three separate pieces of origami. Little folded pieces of paper in three distinct shapes –

A Lion. A Pig. And a Dragon.

The carousel house gasped in unison, all of the animals turned to the mayoral candidates, who stood next to each other with open mouths. Shrugged their shoulders. Pig’s tongue drooped even further down her face.

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Dragon wanted to know. He didn’t do anything with the elephant.

“How do you explain the origami?” the Cat asked. “Each of the notes is shaped like one of you.”

“But until it’s shaped like an elephant I don’t see how it pertains. We’re missing an elephant,” Dragon said again.

Rebecca opened the piece of origami paper shaped like Pig. It read –

“God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.” – Pablo Picasso.

“I love that quote,” said the Pig. “Don’t you? And I love Elephant’s style. That basket she wears, you know, it’s upcycled. It used to be a coffee table. Apparently, Scott bought it on Etsy.”

Mayor Giraffe was slightly annoyed. What did this Pablo person mean by that? No real style? Giraffe was pretty sure this guy didn’t know anything about art. Who names their kid Pablo Picasso? It didn’t even sound like the name of a real artist. Not like Salvador Dali did. Mayor Giraffe liked Dali’s clocks very much. 

“I’m not confident this Picasso person knows anything about art,” Giraffe said quickly. Let’s move on. “Peg…I mean…Pig, why did you give Elephant this piece of origami?”

“I love that quote,” said Pig. “Did you know the basket on Elephant’s back…?”

“Yes, Scott got it on Etsy. We know.”

“You don’t have to be like that,” Pig said. “I gave Elephant the note because I wanted her vote. Who doesn’t love getting a note? In this day and age?! It reminds me of being a teenager.”

The animals all agreed. It was, indeed, fun getting a note. In this day and age.

“And that’s what’s cool about Elephant. And Mayor Giraffe and Cat. They don’t look like they should exist, but they do.”

“Hey!” Mayor Giraffe interrupted.

“Relax, I’m being nice,” said Pig. “The point is, whoever made us is pretty powerful and has very diverse and eclectic tastes. And I wanted Elephant to remember that.”

“I’m really not sure why I was put in this group,” said Cat. “I look perfectly normal.”

Rebecca scratched the Cat behind her ear and thought of Mark who was likely still listening to Ambrosia with the cat trapped in the bathroom. 

“What about the other two notes?” Rebecca asked.

Giraffe tried to open the Lion-shaped note, but his hooves weren’t cooperating. He handed it to Dolphin. No luck with the flippers. 

Finally, with a big sigh, Gorilla opened the note.

“Show off,” the Rooster clucked.

Gorilla read the note inside from Lion. It was a line of poetry from John Donne. 

“Nature’s great masterpiece, an elephant – the only harmless great thing.”

The animals nodded. It was true. The Elephant is great. But where is she?

The sun was sinking low. It was starting to get chilly. Some of the animals were getting fussy. It was dinner time.

Cat remembered something about elephants. “Apparently, they have around 150,000 muscles in their trunks. Making elephant trunks the most sensitive organ found in any mammal. They use them for everything – breathing and eating and grabbing food. They use their trunks to say hello and greet other elephants, and as a snorkel when they swim. Their trunks can carry up to 8 liters of water, which is more than your average CamelBak.” 

“Speak for yourself,” said the Camel. 

“And, elephants communicate in a variety of different ways. They use those trumpet calls, of course, and also body language, touch, and scent. Just like many of us!

But elephants also communicate through seismic signals – or sounds that create vibrations in the ground - which they can detect through their bones.

It’s like their bodies are massive vibrational tuning forks.

And they grieve, you know. They bury their loved ones, and stand watch over their bodies. Just like humans. And they cry. Hold vigils.”

Which would have been helpful information if anyone had been able to use it.

“Thank you, Cat” said Mayor Giraffe.

“What about the last note?” Cat asked.

It was shaped like Dragon. Cat swatted at it, but couldn’t get it open. The heron and the ostrich pecked at it, making holes in the piece of paper, but still not opening it.

The Gorilla sighed, swatted away the birds, and opened up the note. It read – 

"Love has the power to pull an elephant through a keyhole." 

“I liked it. And I thought she might like it too,” Dragon said. “I found it in one of my books of sayings. You know how Ms. Pat has her books of sayings? I have mine too. They help ground me.”

The animals nodded. They all did enjoy Dragon’s books of sayings.

“Wait a minute,” said Mayor Giraffe, pointing outside the glass doors.

The animals turned and looked. Just outside the doors next to the Somewhere Else Wall stood Elephant. Her head bowed and her trunk resting on a furry little lump. 

“What’s that?” asked Cat.

“Looks like a stuffed animal,” said Pig, squinting her eyes.

“It’s a stuffed elephant. It looks like one of the puppets from the upstairs puppet theater.” said Mayor Giraffe.

The animals rushed out into the garden. Elephant was, indeed, bowing in front of an elephant puppet. Just like she would in the wild.

“Should we tell her?” asked Gorilla.

“Tell me what?” Elephant asked.

“Uh, you’re not mourning a real elephant.”

“She is most certainly a real elephant. Harper and her friend, Eli, were playing with her upstairs in the puppet theater all afternoon. You heard them, they were having a great time.”

“So, you know this is a puppet?” Mayor Giraffe asked.

“Yes, of course. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

The animals were confused.

“Why are you mourning a stuffed elephant?” Mayor Giraffe asked.

“She and Harper just met. They had a lovely day together and now Harper’s all alone until she can convince her parents to drive back to the carousel where she’s absolutely certain she left the puppet,” Elephant explained. 

“Grief isn’t solely about life or death; it’s mostly about loss of companionship, loss of presence. In fact, Barbara J. King says that when two or more animals have shared a life, ‘Grief results from love lost.’”

The animals bowed their heads for a moment.

“I am going to stand watch over Harper’s friend until tomorrow morning. I promise to be back in the carousel house before anyone notices I’m gone, I promise,” Elephant said.

Mayor Giraffe agreed.

As the animals were filing back into the carousel house, Pig turned around and asked Elephant, “So, you got our notes, which one of us are you going to vote for?”

“All of you,” Elephant said. “I love you all. Why wouldn’t I vote for you all?”

“Was it because of our carefully written notes? Our clever turns of phrase?” Dragon asked.

Elephant shook her head. “It’s not because of what you said or what you did. It’s because of who you are. I love you because of who you are.”

Pig, Dragon, and Lion looked at their friend in the dimming light. A beautiful being standing over a stuffed elephant in the courtyard. Planning to sit watch all night, until Harper’s mom’s Subaru pulls into the parking lot on the way to school tomorrow morning.

And when it does pull up, Elephant will sneak away, opening the back door as quietly as she can, tiptoeing back into the carousel. She’s almost there, just a couple steps to go.

But off in the distance, she hears something. Faintly. Over the hiss of the espresso machines next door at the train cars, or the sound of yoga mats slapping against the wood floor of Tadasana.

The sound makes Elephant put her trunk down to the ground. Listening. Noticing the hum of energy that vibrates beneath. It sounds oddly familiar. A melody she’s heard many times before.

“What is it?” she asks herself and pauses for a moment. 

But the moment is just a moment too long. John Callahan flips on the lights and notices. The Elephant is missing.

“Where did she go?’

Then he sees something out of the corner of his eye. It’s Elephant. She’s got her trunk to the ground, as if she’s listening to something.

He looks at her.

She looks at him.

And asks, “Is that Steely Dan?”    

Don’t forget, Dear Listener, this election is different – you can vote for all of the candidates as many times as you want. Come on into the carousel or check us out online. All of your votes for mayor are 100% tax deductible and allow us to keep spinning round and round here at the Carousel of Happiness. Right now, Lion remains in the lead, but Dragon has come from behind to tie Pig for second. That’s right. We’ve got a real talon-biter on our hands. But there’s still plenty of time left in this election season. All votes will be counted until May 26th.

And maybe, go write someone a note, will ya? Because it’s fun to get notes.

In the meantime, take care. Be well. And, as we like to say at the Carousel of Happiness, “don’t delay joy.” And we’ll see you next time around.