He Was A Student Of The Old Days
Zvi A. Sesling
Clayton was always
fascinated by the Neanderthals. That fascination became even more gripping to
him when he had his DNA studied and was delighted to learn that his ancestry
included South Africa, Tunisia, Spain, France, England and included two percent
DNA from Neanderthals. That would explain my fondness for working in construction
and my great physical strength, he thought.
Clayton owned a small one-bedroom
cottage where his love of cave men led to his outfitting his place like a cave.
It was near the Storm King hiking trails where he hiked the area three times a
week unless he was supervising the construction of homes in the area.
Whenever he hiked, he
carried a baseball bat for self-defense in the event he encountered a cougar or
bear. He had learned that from reading early books about Neanderthals. The
books said male Neanderthals carried clubs to hunt animals, defend themselves
against beasts and other males. If they clubbed a female Neanderthal they carried
her back to their cave, a proposition he found quite exciting.
One morning a few minutes
into his walk, he encountered a young lady wearing slacks tucked into her
socks, a long sleeve jersey and a man’s broad brimmed hat. The outfit protected
against ticks and other insects.
“Is this the way back to
the parking lot?” She asked.
“Yes, over there, a
quarter of a mile,”
Clayton looked around, no
one was within sight. The woman had turned to leave when Clayton hit her over
the head with the baseball bat. She fell to the ground and he picked her up and
carried her back to his cottage where he placed her on his bed.
Those Neanderthal men
were pretty smart, he told himself.
