An Unfinished Documentary

A pig and a chicken were on their way to breakfast.

They were trying to decide what to have.

The chicken said, "Let's have ham and eggs."

The pig replied, "That's fine for you,

it's a small donation on your part,

but a total sacrifice for me!"  Unknown

Horrible screaming woke me up.  It sounded as if a woman with a high-pitched voice was screaming for help. I jumped out of bed and looked out the window and saw two men struggling with a large pig.  They were attempting to load it unto the back of a pickup truck.  I quickly dressed, grabbed my camera and rushed out to get a closer look.  The pig was huge and fought the two men.  Two other men came running to help and with eight hands they were able to put the screaming pig into the bed of the pickup. I was surprised at the almost human sounds emitting from the grey pig with dark spots.

I looked for my own photos of this day
but was unable to locate a picture. I
got this picture off the internet.

I took pictures of the pig and noticed that it had small eyes with long, beautiful eyelashes.  I had never been so close to a pig and found that it was a handsome and strong animal.  Its course hair felt wirey as I petted the subdued beast. I asked where the pig was headed and was told that there was to be a big feast later in the day.  Immediately, I thought I would video tape the process from beginning to end and maybe call it, "The Life of a Pig, or a Hog's Life." It would be a documentary like National Geographic is known to film! I followed the truck in my jeep to a mountain retreat about seven miles away.

As they got the pig down from the truck, I noticed it no longer screamed.  Did he know what was in store for him? Was he resigned to his fate?  I followed as the big pig, with a rope around its neck, meekly walked to his execution. I got as far as the area where a large 36" pot of water had been placed over a fire. I noticed a long wooden table with metal instruments that looked liked knives and hooks. A rope, two yards long, had been tied between two trees "What happens next?" I inquired. A large bearded man held a sledge hammer in his hand, "I'm going to kill the pig and cook the meat for a party this afternoon." I asked, "How will you kill it?"  He shook his head as if dealing with an idiot, and replied, "I hit it right on the head. It dies instantly."

That's all it took. His comment ended my video taping.  I could not watch the beautiful pig be slaughtered.  I quickly returned to my jeep and drove away as fast as I could. Tears burst from my eyes as I drove away. This may be a norm for farmers, but it was not my idea of a humane way of killing a pig. At the super market, packages neatly wrapped containing pork ribs, pork chops, etc. have never made me think about animals being killed. I cried most of the morning as I recalled the fate of the large pig.  Later that afternoon, I attended  the party.  I did not enjoy myself. When it came time to eat, everyone filled their plates with meat and some went back for seconds. Every one said how delicious the meat tasted but I never touched or looked at the meat.  During the rest of my stay as a volunteer in Mexico, I stopped eating meat whether it was pork, beef or chicken. Just the thought of the pig's short life became a deterrent.

 

"After all, God invented pigs too,

although he did not allow His people to eat pork."

Unknown