I've had several rabbits throughout my childhood, even had to kill two. Rabbits don't scream often, and the sound of one still sends me chills, but thats for another story. This is what my father told me about how we got the first bunny.
My family lived in San Francisco at the time, and in the middle of the city is this huge park. I don't mean some dinky average urban park with clean cut lawns. I mean a HUGE park, even to a 32 year old, with much of it ready to display its feral side if left unattended a few seconds too long. Sure, most people can drive out of the city to something similar, but this is embedded in the city amungt the all the smells of hot dog vendors, hippie buses, trolleys, and the harbor. Apparently it was in one of these semi-feral areas that my mom caught this cute little bunny.
My father wasn't there when we caught it, so I don't know how it happened. It wasn't likely something I would know to store in my memory, because at that age, cute furry creatures all want to be your friends anyhow. It wasn't until many years later did I find out the sad truth about the allegedly cute furry creatures. However, my mom knew that the number one obstacle in keeping the rabbit, was my dad. Luckily, my mom happens to be wise in the way of disabling men with the power of cuteness.
So, imagine being my dad at home, when his wife and son return from their park trip. He notices that my mom is holding her coat in her arms, like something is wrapped inside it. I'm sure his first guess was that she bought him a poorboy or something as a surprise gift. He inquires, but she refuses to tell him what it is. This is a key step here, had she told him about the rabbit, he would have dismissed it without building an attachment.
My father must now get closer, to see whats under the coat. My mom, smartly pulls back the jacket just a little bit, for him to see the head of the bunny. This simple move completes the deal by two ways. First, the bunny cant simply jump out and cause a mess and stress, thus preventing any possible arguments from coming to the forefront. Second, she's only showing him the face, which we as humans, are designed to notice facial expressions and protect small faces with large eyes.Having a twitching nose staring him in the face created an attachment, and thus my father had to allow us to keep the bunny. I often wonder if my mom used these same tricks on him as she brought me from the hospital.
