Face to face with a Homunculus!
Homunculus, Latin for “little human”, plural: “homunculi”; from the diminutive of homo) is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully-formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism. Currently, in scientific fields, a homunculus may refer to any scale model of the human body that, in some way, illustrates physiological, psychological, or other abstract human characteristics or functions.
Here is my homunculus! I met him last night…in my garage!
I could not sleep, so at 2:15 a.m., after tossing and turning for an hour, I rose from my bed and went downstairs to do…oh, anything other than obsess about how much I wanted to be sleeping soundly in my comfy bed.
Two cats slept upstairs. One cat slept downstairs on his cat tower. Yet…what was that? That noise in the garage? I opened the door from the laundry room, flipped on the light, and there stood a raccoon, standing tall on his hind legs like a little homunculus, staring right at me. I could see his brain working despite the mask he wore.
His first thought? “Busted!”
His second thought? “I ain’t afeared ‘o you, lady!”
I backed up and closed the door, sealing the cat door from the inside just in case he decided that the cat food in the kitchen smelled more appetizing than the cat food in the garage.
No, I don’t plan to shoot him. There’s a bobcat that patrols our neighborhood, taking at least a raccoon a week. She dragged one out of our backyard just a couple nights ago. Hey, it’s California. We live with nature. I’ve had coyotes in my yard, bobcats on my roof, hawks in my trees and a mountain lion in my driveway. My cats are smart enough to stay indoors at night.
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July 23rd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Oh, my, it would be very exciting if he wandered through the cat door!
July 23rd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Not too mention destructive Chris. Second only to the skunk seeking the home’s interior.
I have always found the homunculus that we see popularly fascinating. It reps how we sense the body. For example are teeth and mouth are very small but mentally they are enormous.
Getting dark here. Having had two nights of substandard sleep, I have been falling asleep for an hour waiting for my husband to video chat from Korea. I may go to sleep while it is still light out! Kind of guarantees that I will wake up while it is still dark.
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Hey Chris - This guy looked so human I don’t want him in my house! Now that the dog is gone, the raccoons think they have the run of the place!
Steph - when I have nightmares, they are of a homunculus!
July 25th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I must tell you my wildcat story sometime…
July 25th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Anny, I want to hear your wildcat story!