AN ALLEGORY FOUND

Last New Year’s Eve, at a get-together with friends, a young man and I engaged in a conversation about books and authors. When I mentioned to him that I had never read books by Anne Rice, or other authors who deal with supernatural mythology, he suggested that I do so, because he found those books entertaining. So, taking the challenge, I read a book by Donna Boyd who created a world of Werewolves who live undetected among us.

The story involved two packs of Shape Shifter Wolves, who can change into human forms at will. One pack of Werewolves enjoyed the company of humans and found them inferior but amusing, while the other pack thought them to be parasites that needed to be exterminated.

The Alpha Male in one of these packs had fur (or hair depending on his form) of a reddish-yellow color, and a business empire that stretched all over the world. He also served in a high position of government, and had an exceedingly large ego. He lived high on the hog (sometimes literally) in a mansion. Since Werewolves considered themselves superior, they took credit for every positive innovation or invention ever created---including the work of Thomas Edison. They blamed the bad stuff, such as wars, on humans.

According to my Google search, in the last century several Werewolf sightings have been recorded, and many of them have taken place in Wisconsin. This is a good time to remind you that the good people of Wisconsin have also brought us bratwurst, cheese, beer and the Green Bay Packers. However, it is also good to note that on November 14, 1908 Joe McCarthy was born to the McCarthy pack in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, and he followed the “humans are parasites” career path.

According to Mr. Google, “The history of the Werewolf has roots in many cultures dating back to ancient times”. One legend is the story of the Spirit God, and Shape Shifter, Wisukachek, and refers to an early Native American tribe in the area now known as Wisconsin. For many years, these stories were thought to be mere legend, until; “In 1936 a string of modern Werewolf sightings changed everything. Where did this take place? In the USA State called Wisconsin.

So, all of this begs the question, Are there Werewolves among us? And, if so, would we ever know? Stephen King writes, “Some Werewolves are hairy on the inside.” That isn’t helpful at all. Was it a hairy inside that really killed Joe McCarthy, or was it excessive alcoholism as the doctors claimed?

Molly Harper sums it up in Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs: “Contrary to popular myth, Werewolves are born. Werewolves are not made. No matter how many times they bite someone, that person will not turn, though they will probably bleed profusely, and will definitely be annoyed.”

As far as I am concerned, “A pox on the Werewolves among us.” We will survive them, because as Michael Gerson writes, “Being an American is to belong to a flawed but wonderful tribe.”

Esther Blumenfeld