TAC the Bunny

Several years ago I was a camp counselor for Teen Aviation Camp (TAC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The camp was held at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School. I am an AFA Prep School alum as well as an Air Force Academy alum and it was the first time I had been back to the Academy since I graduated in 2002.

One evening the counselors went to dinner on Academy Blvd and as I was leaving the restaurant I saw a little bunny sitting all by himself outside of the building. I reached down for him and surprisingly he did not run away. I actually took him back into the restaurant, which looking back was probably some sort of health code violation, but I wanted to show the other counselors who were still dining inside. We named him after the camp and he became our unofficial mascot.

I bought him a cage at Wal-Mart. It was far too large for him boasting an expansive "Living Area" about two feet across and a foot and a half deep. TAC was no bigger than a tennis ball but I wanted to make sure he had plenty of room to roam. Our cages, I mean homes, get too cramped for us at times as well. He didn't like the cage though; he would squeeze between the bars and climb the sheets in order to get in bed with me. Who knew bunnies could climb sheets!

That first night, I also remember taking TAC to the mall with my friend and getting some free lettuce for him at Taco Bell. They also gave me a cup of water for him in case he was thirsty. Everyone likes stray bunnies I suppose.

He died two days later. I was devastated. I remember calling my boyfriend, now husband, trying to explain the tragedy in between my sobs. He told me to calm down because he couldn't understand what I was saying. I felt like I had killed the little guy with my own hands. Doubt loomed over me. Should I have taken him in the first place? What had I done?

My friends assured me that his mother probably knew he was sick, and that is why she left him to fend for himself.

That did not ease the ache. I had let some of the camp children play with him the night before... unsupervised. Had they dropped him?

TAC is buried outside of the dorm rooms at the AFA Preparatory School overlooking the valley and the gorgeous Colorado mountains. One of the camp children made him a little wooden cross--two sticks fastened together with a bit of string.

My first and only bunny; his memory lives on.

This is for TAC:

I had a bunny.
He was furry and soft.
He licked my face and made me smile.
He only stayed with me for a very short while.
It made me sad.
It made me cry.
But now I know why I had to say goodbye.
There weren't enough bunnies in heaven.
So I had to give up mine.
Now he has wings.
Have you ever seen a bunny fly?
Mine can.
And that makes me smile.

P.S. - After camp was over and the counselors went their separate ways I received a message from one of the male counselors. He was mowing his lawn and accidentally ran over a nest of baby bunnies, killing them. He broke down in tears and his wife came rushing out wondering what had happened. He is a great big burly hulk of a guy; she couldn't understand why he was so upset. He told her about TAC. The little bunny lives on... :)