John is an American farmer who owns a large plot of land with a vibrant vegetable garden, a blooming orchard, and his comfortable home. John keeps hens in a coop next to his house, some of which he uses for his own purposes and some of which he sells. Over the years, this arrangement has worked well for him, increasing the productivity and self-sufficiency of his farm.
Occasionally, John is used to discovering eggs strewn all over his property, particularly in the vicinity of the greenhouse where his hens enjoy running amok. Since his free-range hens behaved in this manner normally, there was never any reason to be concerned. But one morning, John noticed something strange that caught his attention.
John found a group of perfectly black eggs next to the chicken coop. He had never seen anything like this before. John was surprised at first by the striking black hue of the eggs, but his curiosity overcame him. He was intrigued by these unusual eggs and chose to incubate them in a warm, dark corner of his barn, just like he would any ordinary chicken egg.
The eggs started to hatch after several days of patient waiting, exposing their even more amazing contents. The chicks that emerged astounded John since they were entirely black, down to their beaks and feathers. John was excited to learn more about these unusual birds because he had never expected to see this sight.
The chicks turned out to be Ayam Cemani, a rare species distinguished by their remarkable all-black look. Their interior organs and bones are also included in this distinctive feature, which goes beyond appearances. John found out that his affluent neighbor, who specialized in uncommon breeds, was the breeder of these unusual chickens. It seemed as though one of his neighbor’s hens had inadvertently strayed into John’s land and lay eggs.
For John, the discovery of the Ayam Cemani chickens was a thrilling experience that brought a sense of mystery and variety to his farming life. In addition to introducing him to a new breed, this event deepened his relationship with his neighbor and sparked conversations about possible future partnerships. Though surprises were nothing new to John’s farm, the emergence of these black chicks was a wonderful exception that brought to mind the never-ending wonders of the natural world.
“People Only Know Me as a Freak,” The Wolf Man Struggles to Find a Job Outside the Circus
Jesús Aceves has hypertrichosis, which makes his hair grow abundantly over his face and back. Because of his condition, he’s also known as The Wolf Man. But he’s tired of this alias and wants to live a normal life.
Meet Jesús Aceves, a 55-year-old man born with a condition called hypertrichosis, which means he has abnormal hair growth over his body, especially his face. Although married with kids, Jesús isn’t fully happy with his living conditions. He says he and his family suffer discrimination. In an interview, one of his kids mentioned, “People call me names, and they even tell their kids not to be my friends.”
He worked in the circus all his life, traveling through several cities. But now, he’s tired of being seen as a freak. As a consequence of years on the road, he’s been known as The Wolf Man.
Back home and not in the circus anymore, he’s facing another challenge: finding a “normal” job. He needs to support his family since his wife works in temporary jobs.
After several failed job interviews, he agreed to try something he had always avoided: shave his face. He relied on his family barber to transform him, even creating eyebrows and lashes.
The experience was difficult since the face is an extremely sensitive body area, but both he and his wife believed that simply by shaving, he would be able to find a job.
Jesús did several interviews, and it’s confident that now he’ll find somewhere to work besides the circus. If this happens, he must shave his face every 2 days.
Although rare, some conditions aren’t impossible to have. Luckily, people find a way to overcome the difficulties a rare condition brings and strive in life. Hannah Tyre, for example, was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, meaning that her bones break very easily. But her love for makeup made her an internet influencer, reaching millions of followers. We hope that, by reaching the mainstream media, people with genetic diseases won’t suffer more discrimination.
Preview photo credit A True Story / Youtube
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