This Little Piggy

After finding a pig in the front yard last weekend, I got to thinking about pigs. I've never owned a pig, but I remember visiting my best friend in elementary school and meeting two rather special pigs.

It seems that my friend's father had brought home two tiny piglets intending to raise them, then have them butchered for meat for the family. My friend's mother fell in love with the little piggies and treated them as pets. They followed her all around the yard and when she went in the house, they settled down on the porch to wait for her. She bathed them weekly and sang to them as she did her yard work. As you can guess, they lived out their lives and never became bacon.

We all grew up with stories and rhymes about pigs. There were the three pigs.

And when we were very little our Mom's probably did the little piggy thing with our toes.

Speaking of the little piggy toe rhyme, I love the Geico ad starring Maxwell, the pig that went "wee wee wee all the way home".

Now I am not a fan of television advertising. Why is it that men are so hypnotised by commercials? When I'm trying to talk to Rob during a commercial, I can see that he's concentrating more on the television than on me. That's when I hit the off button on the remote to get his attention. Anyway, I love Maxwell. He's quite annoying, but he makes me smile.

Another annoying famous pig is Miss Piggy. Now I like the fact that she's a strong female character and I like her tough talk, but I wish she'd leave my Kermit alone. I'm a frog collector and feel very protective of the little green fellow.

Lately I've started playing Angry Birds and the villainous pigs in that game can make me talk back to the game.

The smirks on their faces and the nasty little noise they make when you miss them is what keeps me going back for one more try.

Finally, have you see the 'teacup piggies'? Apparently these started out as toys for children, but became toys for adult collectors.

Look at these adorable little outfits on these tiny pigs. I know I'd have loved these when I was a kid. No Barbie dolls for me. I was strictly an animal lover. Some things never change.

Who would have thought that pigs would play such a prominent part in my life? Are you a fan of Maxwell?