Humans

I’ve seen Disney video of otters cavorting in the water, sliding down waterfalls and cracking clams on their bellies; or nature films where Orcas throw seals around for fun; and who hasn’t enjoyed movies where bears tussle in the snow for fun or in which mountain goats bash each others’ horns in for the sheer entertainment value of it?

Clearly, there’s something delightful about seeing animals having fun, which is why, perhaps, it’s such pleasure to observe human animals engaging in the variety of strange and wonderful ways they have of amusing themselves, including running full speed into waves breaking upon the shore, then flipping forward to land—smack—on their back in the surf; or hooking themselves to parachutes to be pulled into the air by a boat so as to dangle, suspended a hundred feet above the water, laughing hysterically; or swimming back and forth from sand to breakers, riding the waves or being pulled beneath them or sometimes both.

I wonder if our hunter-gatherer ancestors played around in the ocean as much as we do and whether they did so in such weird ways. Did Og and Gog, for instance, body surf? Did their mates take time from pounding dried fish or whatever to enjoy a float on their backs the boyant waters of the salty sea?

Who can say? But it’s certain that their contemporary counterparts, namely those of us currently inhabiting planet earth, have mastered the practice of doing strange things just for shits n’ giggles; I myself have no idea why parasailing, for example, is such a riot, but I heartily endorse it as a morning’s entertainment and as a way for parents and their children to bond at 150 feet above sea level.

I for one, was cracking up, and so was my kid, and I’m sure that any otters who were watching would have been laughing out loud, too.