|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
|
Story written by Jennifer Slawson. From an article in ANTIQUES AND COLLECTING magazine. YOU'VE HEARD the saying "One man's treasure is another man's trash." Another version might be "One man's freaky prehistoric beast is another man's cuddly pet ." To the less compassionate, armadillos might seem like giant rats in fencing gear. But to Sam Ciraulo, there's nothing like snuggling up to a little gray armadillo and hand-feeding him grub worms. Sam's
affection for armadillos is at the heart of his 186 piece collection that
began-at least in spirit-more than 50 years ago. During WWII,
That led to a long friendship
between the soft-hearted navigator and his unlikely pet. Sam decided to
call the animal "Marxie" and painted his new name on his shell. Then Sam
created a cozy spot for him under a blanket on an empty bunk. When each
training day was over, Sam and Marxie would go out and scour the field for
grubs and other insects. Sam even gave his pet regular baths. Soon the
armadillo was following Sam everywhere he went.
Like all good Army buddies,
Sam and his armadillo stuck together. So when Sam went flying, so did
Marxie-inside Sam's flight-suit pocket. According to Sam, Marxie wasn't
crazy about flying; he tended to get confused and queasy, so eventually
Sam had to ground him.
Just before bombardier training ended, Marxie disappeared.
Sam believes that someone stole him, though he has no idea why. Sam went
on to receive his bombardier wings and fly 35 bombing missions over
Germany. He says that after the war ended, he returned to civilian life
and "blanked out" his armadillo experience for 40 years.
Then one day his wife bought him a replica of
an armadillo. That first piece got the ball rolling and soon
his four daughters joined in the armadillo onslaught. Sam said, "They were
coming in all shapes and sizes."
Today Sam's collection includes
armadillo T-shirts, neckties, earrings, Beanie Babies, sweatshirts, and
road signs. There is a candle holder and a candle, though Sam warned, "It
has a wick, but I dare anyone to bum it!" One of Sam's armadillos is made
from the ash of Mt. St. Helen's and another is an exact replica made of
concrete, which weighs about 50 pounds. He also has "Canned Armadillo" and
"Armadillo Milk" (from novelty shops, of course). Sam has armadillos from
all over the U.S as well as China, Mexico, and Russia, where his daughter
lived for ten years. (While there, she commissioned an artist to decorate
a set of Russian nesting dolls with an armadillo design. Unfortunately,
after beginning the project, the painter found the animal too ugly and
gave up after only one doll!)
Sam says that his collecting goal is to hit 200
pieces. But no matter how many imitation armadillos fill Sam's house, none
can take the place of Marxie, the true original, in his heart.
|
� Copyright, 2003 Samuel J. Ciraulo, All rights reserved. Contact [email protected] with comments or questions.