The Story behind Herbie the hippo
If
you linked to this page from our photo Gallery of 2003...
What did you think of Herbie? Isn't he
real cute?
We have what is called a Pygmy Hippo.
Ever heard of those? They stay small! Just the perfect pet anyone with a
canal backyard, should have!
You should see how cute and funny he
looks. We put a collar on him and tied him to the marker stake we have at
the edge of our canal. He floats around the area and his head bobs up
with the water's movement. Real, real cute!
We sent the photo to a few friends and
to my son Pauly, the one in Colorado. They all wrote back with comments
such as: "Are you crazy!!!!". Our friends Daisy and Julio, who live a
couple of miles away, came by the other day after work, to meet Herbie. I
had told them about him and they wanted to see him for real... They
couldn't believe that we had a hippo! So the following afternoon they
came by after work for a "Happy Hour" and we took them to the canal, where
Herbie is tied.. You should have seen their faces when they saw him! All
puzzled and bewildered! Followed by a hearty laugh when they realized the
truth!
Well.. We'll settle your mind at rest
and tell you that he was made in China, with a plastic coating, so we
won't have to worry too much about feeding him, getting fined by the
Florida Fish & Game, etc... Ha, ha, ha... We got you going, didn't
we???
Last Sunday we went to Eckerd Drugs and
in the clearance section they had this hippo for $5.00 and I told Mark "I
want it, I want it, I want it..." to put it in our canal. I figured we
could tie a rope around his neck and keep him on our side of the canal.
The box said it was for floating on a pool. But floating in the canal he
seems a lot more real, doesn't he? I tell you, he's the best $5.00 joke
we have bought in years! Ha, ha!.. He looked so good, that I told Mark
to pose next to it and make it look like he was feeding him. Those
pictures came out so good, that I thought it could make a good joke.
Sorry if we disappointed you by not
having the "real thing". We were actually going to wait 'till you come
over and surprise you when you got here and saw that Herbie wasn't real,
but we figured that by the time you got here, he might have been eaten
by a real life alligator.. you never know! Hey! Remember...
we do have alligators down here in Florida!
Following, I am enclosing some of the
very funny comments we received... Mark and I have laughed our heads
off! It's been a great joke!
Thought you might want to read these: Son Pauly:
Are you guys nuts? Is that a real life Hippo? Does
it get as big as
regular hippos? If so do you know how big and violent that thing is going to be? That's not a real hippo is it? You know if it is, Miami Dade County will like take it away, especially if you have it running ramped throughout the canal. That can't possibly be a real Hippo is it? You better get back to me ASAP! I can't believe you guys. What's going on down there?
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Reply after we told him the truth:
Ha Ha, very funny! I showed Dave, he got a real kick
out of it. It would
not surprise me a bit if you guys really did get one.
Cousin Kenny:
Wow, that is really awesome! Where did you get him?
I'm sure the girls would get a real kick out of him ... I'll show them the picture when I get home. I have the girls this Saturday and am trying to think of something fun to do for Heather's Birthday. Perhaps, if you guys are not busy, we could come down and see the Rhino and perhaps go to Parrot Jungle. Let me know if that works for you. Mercedes & Joe:
We expect to see this on the Channel 7 news any night
now:
"Wild and crazy couple adopts hippo. Hippo eats its
way through the Gables canal system.
Residents panic..."
Good Luck and tell Herbie we say hello! PS: I hear they turn old hippos into a ride at Disney. J & M Hortensia:
Is that hippo real????? Wow, in your backyard canal
there's a hippo??? How funny. I hope he hangs around and really becomes your
new pet. I showed Pepe and he was amazed. He thinks hippos don't live in
salt water and that he probably escaped from the zoo or something. It is
pretty amazing to see a HIPPO floating in your canal.
Martica Ibarra:
Hi Carmencita and Mark
I hope all is going great! Tell me about Herbie. What do you mean you adopted him. Where did he come from. He really is cute.
Alesia Carballosa:
This is a joke right? You transposed that picture onto another picture
right? Hippo's are much bigger than that. If that's real, Mommy Hippo is
not far away. Herbie would only be a baby and was born not too long
ago. It's a joke right?
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Reply after she found out the truth:
That was a GREAT joke!!!! I would
have spent $50 for that joke. You done good!!!
I'm sure you and Mark got plenty of
endorphins from that one. You got us all.
Love,
Ali
Tom Leiner:
Is that real? It can't be. If it is, watch out for
the mother - these animals are very mean and nasty! Hope all is well...
Ingrid Leiner:
Love the picture of Herbie. Didn't know that FL has hippos. What do
they eat? He's just a baby now, but soon he'll grow to be quite large. I've seen them on Animal Planet and some grow to be gigantic but, they also live a long time too. So, maybe Herbie won't grow that big over the next 10 years. Samantha Morell:
Wow - great flick! Looks like you are having too much fun living in Sunny
Florida!
Mark feeding Herbie in our backyard
Herbie floating around in the afternoon sun
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