Life Before the Beginning of Time, Ch. 1

We just returned from the hunting party.  It it is good to be back in the cave.   I hate sleeping on rocks.  We brought in three bison and an elk to the tribe.  Not bad for two weeks work.   Now the attention of the hunting party has turned to more pleasurable endeavors.   Ina and Herab accompanied us on our travels.  The men enjoyed their company.   I think they initially enjoyed ours as well.   But I think our numbers began to tire them.   Later they kept to themselves and enjoyed each others company.   We did not mind. 

Most of the women in the tribe had no interest in hunting.  These stayed behind.   Now our thoughts turned to them and a belly full of roasted bison organs.  

The question arose concerning how to select partners for this evening.   Mika, Teka, Jum Jum, Freda, Julb, and Sesta seemed amenable to our advances.  The question arose as to how they should be paired up.  Jona suggested an ingenious device of drawing a series of twigs with the shortest twig getting last choice among the women.  I thought his proposal clever, but I considered the feelings of the women may be negatively affected by being selected last.   I reminded Jona of our salad days when games of kick rock were played and teams were selected and he was selected last and how that made him feel.  He agreed.  However, before waiting on further plans he grabbed Julb and went with her to one of the coupling crevasses.  Jum Jum stood before me smiling.   Her hair was ratty and matted and her face was not comely.   I was not enticed by her advances, but I did not want to negatively affect her self esteem and thought it may have deleterious effects on the future of harmonious relations with the tribe if I did not do the dance of boom chick bow wow with her.   I noticed the others began to pair off and of course there was more men than women.   I went with Jum Jum to my favorite hidden crevass.

Thorb and Nowt did not select women.  They went out of the cave altogether.   I did not pay attention to them.  

Later I spoke to Thorb about where he went.  He was evasive.   Thorb was the most handsome man in the cave and women always wanted to be with him.   As time went on, I noticed that each time after the hunt was over, Thorb and Nowt would disappear and not select women.   I don't think any of the men cared.   We had other things on our mind.  

 

 

cemetery walk with Cecelia leung