Goat Love
No, not that kind. We’re talking about real, earnest, self-sacrificing goat love. The kind of love bestowed upon a goat that transcends mere physical attraction. Earlier this week, 23-year-old Rupali Meshram was working inside her house in a rural village in the western state of Maharashtra, India, when she thought she heard her favorite goat crying. Rupali did what any goat lover would do, she ran outside to see what was wrong. What she saw was a giant tiger getting ready to make a snack out of her goat. What she did next was not what any other goat lover anywhere would have probably done.
The young woman threw caution to the wind, picked up a small stick and attacked the 500-pound cat. Seriously, how f…ing nuts is that… I mean, how much love is that? The goat survived and more surprisingly so did the stick-wielding Rupali. We figure that the tiger was so impressed that the woman cared that much for a goat that it just decided to eat somebody less committed later on. Goat love. Who knew?
Pumpernickel wins the day
Great spreads of meats, cheese and veggies. Hot, fancy meals like Chicken Cordon Bleu and Smoked Salmon Potato Cakes with Herbed Crème Fraîche. A dessert bar replete with brownies a la mode and cookies, lots of cookies. That’s what we think of when hear about “tour food” — a smorgasbord of culinary delights eaten in green rooms and backstage with musicians, famous speakers and other folks hobnobbing at events. Oh yeah, and the green rooms. Fancy couches, plush rugs and a variety of tables on which to set your large plate of fancy food.
But that’s not how it was for subjects who recently visited with Prince Mohammed bin Salman — de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia — as he “toured” the U.S. and held palace court in both New York and Los Angeles. Convening in darkened hotel conference rooms, subjects could meet with their sovereign to make official requests or maybe just take a photo (until they found out no selfies were allowed, also unlike backstage at concerts where the practice is ubiquitous), There were pumpernickel bagels and sprinkled donuts available at the self-serve table. Along with bagged tea and coffee. But visitors couldn’t complain. The majority of them were students, there to ask for money through a government scholarship program. So what if they didn’t get fed grapes while being fanned with palm fronds? We’d take money over food any day.
