ffollett
08-20-05, 08:03 AM
'Creepy Crawly' lessons
By Jeanne M. Rideout/ Correspondent
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
When Bonnie Main brought 12 dying turtles home from a Brockton pet shop where the owner unthinkingly put the land turtles in water and the water turtles on sand, her 3-year-old son Kevin, looking for breakfast, had one comment:
"Other mothers go shopping for Cheerios."
What Bonnie did not realize at the time was that tucked inside the box with the sickly turtles was a way to help children understand and live with disabilities That was 35 years and scores of injured reptiles and amphibians ago.
Bonnie, "The Snake Lady," seeks out abused, neglected, and handicapped crawly critters, nurses them back to health and happiness in her Weymouth home, and lets them slither and waddle into children's lives to show that we're fine the way we are, no matter what the "outside packaging" is.
"We're all different on the outside, but the same on the inside," Bonnie tells children in her "Creepy Crawly and Company" shows at schools, churches, libraries, birthday parties, and other occasions all over the South Shore. Recently, Bonnie thrilled the youngsters at Kindercare, on Webster Street in Braintree.
As the children learn to love a lizard, tickle a turtle, and snuggle a snake, they also learn about "living with and overcoming handicaps and about coping with differences together." By all getting along together, the creepy crawlers teach children to respect each other.
Each of the animals in Bonnie's show, whether snake, turtle, or lizard, suffers from a severe disability.
One bearded dragon lizard, appropriately named Captain Hook, had a bad injury to his tail that healed in an upward crook, rather than out straight.
Smiley, an African tortoise, was one of the land animals forced to live in water that Bonnie rescued from the Brockton pet store, where Smiley swam for 30 days. His feet had swelled, and he lost his toenails. His body had swelled, and he lost his tail. The veterinarian Bonnie took the tortoise to feared that Smiley's chances looked grim.
"Don't fall in love," he advised Bonnie.
Under Bonnie's care, Smiley thrived, and his toenails grew back. However, because of the damage done to his stubby legs, the toenails grew out straight. Yet, in spite of his disabilities, Smiley struts out proudly for the children.
Sammy, a 17-year-old turtle, comes to the show with his own story. Sammy's best friend is Bonnie's dog Thor, a 4-year-old hearing impaired Boston terrier. Even though Thor can't hear Bonnie's voice, he has learned to understand simple sign language. Bonnie can "tell" him to come for dinner, come for a walk, or come for a ride in the car. One day, Sammy wandered into the kitchen, where Thor's water station is, and stopped for a drink. At first Thor at first was dismayed and ran to Bonnie as though to say, "Stop him, he's in my water!" Then, after Bonnie reassured him with a pat, Thor went over to the drinking station, stood near Sammy, and put his face tenderly next to the turtle's.
"We can all get along in this world," Bonnie tells the children. "All it takes is a little gentleness and a lot of hard work. If the animals can do it, why can't we do it?"
Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, Bonnie was invited to a Quincy elementary school because the first and second graders were having a hard time dealing with the horrific events. The creepy crawlies arrived with their message that outer appearance is not what matters.
"It doesn't matter if we have a wheelchair or how we walk. It doesn't matter if we have red hair or freckles or green eyes or brown. It matters how we treat each other," Bonnie said. "Difference is very good, because we can learn from everyone."
One little boy, apparently thinking about the new war, understood how accepting differences can help everyone get along.
"You should bring your animals overseas and show those people," he said. Bonnie teaches by sharing the animals' stories, not by lecturing. The children don't even realize they're learning one of life's important lessons.
The Snake Lady, Bonnie Main, holds some of her snakes during a program at Kinder Care in Braintree. (Staff photo by Tom Gorman)
"It's good we're all unique. What a boring world it would be if we were all the same! Who are we to criticize each other? The only animal that criticizes itself is us," Bonnie said.
Bonnie's empathy for the disabled -whether a man, woman, child, or creepy crawly - comes from childhood experiences.
"I always knew I was different, I just didn't know why," Bonnie said. "The other children knew I was different. The boys started to call me stupid."
Bonnie got through it with her mother's love. Over the years, her mother instilled in Bonnie a pride for being who she was. One time, Bonnie's mother gave her a box turtle with three legs, that walked with a thump-bump.
"My mother told me, 'Nobody's perfect. You are who you are. It's okay to be you. You just go and shine, shine, shine,'" Bonnie said.
Bonnie was 19 before anyone realized she was hearing impaired. She had applied for a job as a medical assistant, and the doctor discovered she just wasn't hearing. "You hear as much as somebody under water," the doctor told her. Then Bonnie knew why the kids she went to school with thought she was different. "I was lip reading, but not doing it very well," Bonnie said. Since then, Bonnie has combined her understanding of disabilities and her compassion for others to help others. Life has not always been easy. An accident several years ago left her walking with a limp, a thump-bump just like the box turtle she had as a child. But not even the tragic loss of her husband stopped Bonnie from opening her arms to those who need someone. In addition to her son Kevin, now 38, and her adopted daughter Lindsey, now 32, Bonnie has cared for 11 foster children over the years.
As if her life isn't full enough, Bonnie, who was working as an assistant for a chiropractor, is looking for an afternoon and early evening job, perhaps doing office or secretarial work.
Bonnie has been the Snake Lady now for 29 years, doing 150 to 250 shows a year, some in unusual settings. She once entertained 300 children at a South Boston church while their parents attended a wake.
She had a show for the children attending a wedding reception in Taunton that ended up holding the adults' interest as much as the children's. The grownups were dancing on a grassy knoll near where Bonnie was bringing out Smiley, Captain Hook, and their reptile friends. One by one, the wedding party came down the hill to join the show, first the bride, then the groom, then the guests.
"Any place where there are children, I can do a show. Whatever theme you need, I can do that," Bonnie said. For more information on Creepy Crawly and Company, call Bonnie at 781-337-8129.
There are times when Smiley and friends inspire Bonnie as much as the critters enthrall the children.
Bonnie came home one afternoon after a very hard day.
"I hurt terribly," Bonnie said. "I let all the animals but the snakes out in the living room - the deaf, the blind, the one with a hurt leg. It was like a garden of Eden, a celebration of life."
Bonnie watched Smiley strut across the rug with his trademark grin and felt her spirits lift. "It's okay to be us," Bonnie said. "I know who I am, and I have a blast doing what I do. If Smiley can make it, so can I."
By Jeanne M. Rideout/ Correspondent
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
When Bonnie Main brought 12 dying turtles home from a Brockton pet shop where the owner unthinkingly put the land turtles in water and the water turtles on sand, her 3-year-old son Kevin, looking for breakfast, had one comment:
"Other mothers go shopping for Cheerios."
What Bonnie did not realize at the time was that tucked inside the box with the sickly turtles was a way to help children understand and live with disabilities That was 35 years and scores of injured reptiles and amphibians ago.
Bonnie, "The Snake Lady," seeks out abused, neglected, and handicapped crawly critters, nurses them back to health and happiness in her Weymouth home, and lets them slither and waddle into children's lives to show that we're fine the way we are, no matter what the "outside packaging" is.
"We're all different on the outside, but the same on the inside," Bonnie tells children in her "Creepy Crawly and Company" shows at schools, churches, libraries, birthday parties, and other occasions all over the South Shore. Recently, Bonnie thrilled the youngsters at Kindercare, on Webster Street in Braintree.
As the children learn to love a lizard, tickle a turtle, and snuggle a snake, they also learn about "living with and overcoming handicaps and about coping with differences together." By all getting along together, the creepy crawlers teach children to respect each other.
Each of the animals in Bonnie's show, whether snake, turtle, or lizard, suffers from a severe disability.
One bearded dragon lizard, appropriately named Captain Hook, had a bad injury to his tail that healed in an upward crook, rather than out straight.
Smiley, an African tortoise, was one of the land animals forced to live in water that Bonnie rescued from the Brockton pet store, where Smiley swam for 30 days. His feet had swelled, and he lost his toenails. His body had swelled, and he lost his tail. The veterinarian Bonnie took the tortoise to feared that Smiley's chances looked grim.
"Don't fall in love," he advised Bonnie.
Under Bonnie's care, Smiley thrived, and his toenails grew back. However, because of the damage done to his stubby legs, the toenails grew out straight. Yet, in spite of his disabilities, Smiley struts out proudly for the children.
Sammy, a 17-year-old turtle, comes to the show with his own story. Sammy's best friend is Bonnie's dog Thor, a 4-year-old hearing impaired Boston terrier. Even though Thor can't hear Bonnie's voice, he has learned to understand simple sign language. Bonnie can "tell" him to come for dinner, come for a walk, or come for a ride in the car. One day, Sammy wandered into the kitchen, where Thor's water station is, and stopped for a drink. At first Thor at first was dismayed and ran to Bonnie as though to say, "Stop him, he's in my water!" Then, after Bonnie reassured him with a pat, Thor went over to the drinking station, stood near Sammy, and put his face tenderly next to the turtle's.
"We can all get along in this world," Bonnie tells the children. "All it takes is a little gentleness and a lot of hard work. If the animals can do it, why can't we do it?"
Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, Bonnie was invited to a Quincy elementary school because the first and second graders were having a hard time dealing with the horrific events. The creepy crawlies arrived with their message that outer appearance is not what matters.
"It doesn't matter if we have a wheelchair or how we walk. It doesn't matter if we have red hair or freckles or green eyes or brown. It matters how we treat each other," Bonnie said. "Difference is very good, because we can learn from everyone."
One little boy, apparently thinking about the new war, understood how accepting differences can help everyone get along.
"You should bring your animals overseas and show those people," he said. Bonnie teaches by sharing the animals' stories, not by lecturing. The children don't even realize they're learning one of life's important lessons.
The Snake Lady, Bonnie Main, holds some of her snakes during a program at Kinder Care in Braintree. (Staff photo by Tom Gorman)
"It's good we're all unique. What a boring world it would be if we were all the same! Who are we to criticize each other? The only animal that criticizes itself is us," Bonnie said.
Bonnie's empathy for the disabled -whether a man, woman, child, or creepy crawly - comes from childhood experiences.
"I always knew I was different, I just didn't know why," Bonnie said. "The other children knew I was different. The boys started to call me stupid."
Bonnie got through it with her mother's love. Over the years, her mother instilled in Bonnie a pride for being who she was. One time, Bonnie's mother gave her a box turtle with three legs, that walked with a thump-bump.
"My mother told me, 'Nobody's perfect. You are who you are. It's okay to be you. You just go and shine, shine, shine,'" Bonnie said.
Bonnie was 19 before anyone realized she was hearing impaired. She had applied for a job as a medical assistant, and the doctor discovered she just wasn't hearing. "You hear as much as somebody under water," the doctor told her. Then Bonnie knew why the kids she went to school with thought she was different. "I was lip reading, but not doing it very well," Bonnie said. Since then, Bonnie has combined her understanding of disabilities and her compassion for others to help others. Life has not always been easy. An accident several years ago left her walking with a limp, a thump-bump just like the box turtle she had as a child. But not even the tragic loss of her husband stopped Bonnie from opening her arms to those who need someone. In addition to her son Kevin, now 38, and her adopted daughter Lindsey, now 32, Bonnie has cared for 11 foster children over the years.
As if her life isn't full enough, Bonnie, who was working as an assistant for a chiropractor, is looking for an afternoon and early evening job, perhaps doing office or secretarial work.
Bonnie has been the Snake Lady now for 29 years, doing 150 to 250 shows a year, some in unusual settings. She once entertained 300 children at a South Boston church while their parents attended a wake.
She had a show for the children attending a wedding reception in Taunton that ended up holding the adults' interest as much as the children's. The grownups were dancing on a grassy knoll near where Bonnie was bringing out Smiley, Captain Hook, and their reptile friends. One by one, the wedding party came down the hill to join the show, first the bride, then the groom, then the guests.
"Any place where there are children, I can do a show. Whatever theme you need, I can do that," Bonnie said. For more information on Creepy Crawly and Company, call Bonnie at 781-337-8129.
There are times when Smiley and friends inspire Bonnie as much as the critters enthrall the children.
Bonnie came home one afternoon after a very hard day.
"I hurt terribly," Bonnie said. "I let all the animals but the snakes out in the living room - the deaf, the blind, the one with a hurt leg. It was like a garden of Eden, a celebration of life."
Bonnie watched Smiley strut across the rug with his trademark grin and felt her spirits lift. "It's okay to be us," Bonnie said. "I know who I am, and I have a blast doing what I do. If Smiley can make it, so can I."