WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.840 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:03.240 align:middle line:84% Moving around geographically, the Merrimack 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:04.950 align:middle line:90% is in Massachusetts. 00:00:04.950 --> 00:00:12.570 align:middle line:84% And now we tour Wyoming a little bit for John. 00:00:12.570 --> 00:00:13.440 align:middle line:90% "Rabbits." 00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:18.210 align:middle line:90% 00:00:18.210 --> 00:00:20.940 align:middle line:84% --and this happens to be where I met my husband. 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:21.600 align:middle line:90% Just saying. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:26.010 align:middle line:90% 00:00:26.010 --> 00:00:29.430 align:middle line:84% "The first time the rabbits died, it was spring. 00:00:29.430 --> 00:00:32.220 align:middle line:84% And she hardly knew what to think about the Wyoming 00:00:32.220 --> 00:00:36.690 align:middle line:84% testimony, the Godlike wind in the cottonwoods, the way 00:00:36.690 --> 00:00:39.330 align:middle line:84% the lightning cracked your skull wide open 00:00:39.330 --> 00:00:42.420 align:middle line:84% and made you see things in X-ray. 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:43.920 align:middle line:90% She crept. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:48.900 align:middle line:84% She followed her friend, who acted as guide. 00:00:48.900 --> 00:00:51.630 align:middle line:84% They were coming back from Walmart or somewhere, 00:00:51.630 --> 00:00:55.560 align:middle line:84% back to the friend's trailer on company land. 00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:00.840 align:middle line:84% The boss man was filthy rich and old and loved his guns. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:02.190 align:middle line:90% They opened up the gate. 00:01:02.190 --> 00:01:04.620 align:middle line:84% And the friend showed off her little garden. 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:08.640 align:middle line:84% And then they walked up to the front porch. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:13.650 align:middle line:84% Four dead baby rabbits lay in a line on the top step. 00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:15.960 align:middle line:84% In the garbage can, they found three others. 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:18.920 align:middle line:90% 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:22.070 align:middle line:84% The garbage can was actually a burn barrel. 00:01:22.070 --> 00:01:25.520 align:middle line:84% Here's where you burn trash yourself about once a week-- 00:01:25.520 --> 00:01:28.880 align:middle line:84% spilled a little kerosene in there and lit a match. 00:01:28.880 --> 00:01:30.290 align:middle line:90% It stunk, yes. 00:01:30.290 --> 00:01:31.550 align:middle line:90% But it did the job. 00:01:31.550 --> 00:01:36.710 align:middle line:84% And you didn't need to wait for any damn government truck. 00:01:36.710 --> 00:01:39.440 align:middle line:84% 'He must have done this,' the friend said. 00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:42.800 align:middle line:90% 'He hates rabbits.' 00:01:42.800 --> 00:01:44.960 align:middle line:84% The newcomer took pictures of the rabbits 00:01:44.960 --> 00:01:47.660 align:middle line:90% as evidence of something. 00:01:47.660 --> 00:01:50.390 align:middle line:84% But when she sent the photographs back to New York, 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:54.560 align:middle line:84% the package got lost in the mail. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.980 align:middle line:84% Two years later, the newcomer lived in Wyoming herself, 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:03.980 align:middle line:84% up a hill in another house on company land, a geodesic dome. 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:06.410 align:middle line:84% She drove the beat-up old station wagon 00:02:06.410 --> 00:02:08.630 align:middle line:90% that her friend had sold her. 00:02:08.630 --> 00:02:12.800 align:middle line:84% She drove it up the dirt road, up the dark hill to her house 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:14.240 align:middle line:90% after a night at the bar. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.790 align:middle line:90% 00:02:16.790 --> 00:02:19.820 align:middle line:84% At that time of year, you had to drive slowly. 00:02:19.820 --> 00:02:22.760 align:middle line:84% Because the rabbits had recently given birth. 00:02:22.760 --> 00:02:24.500 align:middle line:90% And there were swarms-- 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:30.200 align:middle line:84% millions, zillions of darting rabbits on the dirt road. 00:02:30.200 --> 00:02:34.460 align:middle line:84% On either side of the road was a field with warrens and streams 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.640 align:middle line:90% and all kinds of rabbit habitat. 00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:38.675 align:middle line:90% They came out at night. 00:02:38.675 --> 00:02:41.440 align:middle line:90% 00:02:41.440 --> 00:02:43.780 align:middle line:84% It was as if the baby rabbits didn't yet 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:46.870 align:middle line:84% know the danger of cars, or perhaps they 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:51.070 align:middle line:84% were so multitudinous that they hopped everywhere, road 00:02:51.070 --> 00:02:52.840 align:middle line:90% or no road. 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.340 align:middle line:84% Anyway, you had to drive slowly not to hit them. 00:02:57.340 --> 00:03:00.880 align:middle line:90% And she did drive slowly. 00:03:00.880 --> 00:03:04.690 align:middle line:84% The rabbits came out every night, the baby rabbits. 00:03:04.690 --> 00:03:07.930 align:middle line:84% And they were like small, gray streaks on the road. 00:03:07.930 --> 00:03:10.450 align:middle line:84% You could hardly see them before they were there 00:03:10.450 --> 00:03:14.260 align:middle line:84% in front of you, streaking across the dirt, zigzagging 00:03:14.260 --> 00:03:18.070 align:middle line:90% around, frantic, stupid. 00:03:18.070 --> 00:03:21.040 align:middle line:84% She leaned forward, holding onto the steering wheel. 00:03:21.040 --> 00:03:21.760 align:middle line:90% She honked. 00:03:21.760 --> 00:03:24.270 align:middle line:90% 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:26.550 align:middle line:84% But to really ensure their well-being, 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:28.965 align:middle line:84% you just have to turn the car off and walk. 00:03:28.965 --> 00:03:31.590 align:middle line:90% 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.170 align:middle line:84% Night after night on her way home from the bar, 00:03:34.170 --> 00:03:36.330 align:middle line:90% she drove on. 00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:39.180 align:middle line:90% There would be bumps. 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:42.750 align:middle line:84% She began to drive a little faster over the hill, 00:03:42.750 --> 00:03:46.950 align:middle line:84% like she belonged here, like the rabbits would disappear, 00:03:46.950 --> 00:03:51.420 align:middle line:84% as the dead ones on the porch did-- even the photos of them. 00:03:51.420 --> 00:03:54.360 align:middle line:84% There were so many rabbits, after all. 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:58.070 align:middle line:84% In a few months, she herself would be gone."