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Bonobos ~ The Last Of The Epicureans ~ The Rarest Of the Great Apes ~ Around the year 300 B.C. Epicurus founded a school of philosophy in Athens.  His followers were called Epicureans and they all lived together in a garden.  The story goes like this, above the entrance to the garden there was a notice saying "Stranger, here you will live well.  Here pleasure is the highest good."  But before you jump to broad ranging hedonistic conclusions, Epicurus always stressed that the pleasurable results of any action must always be weighed against its possible consequences.  Bonobos have heeded this theory of mind quite profoundly while forming the fabric of their society.  They make pleasure calculations like no other.

The garden of the Bonobos is the Congo forest. They dwell only here in the equatorial forests of central Africa. Bonobos are found in just one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo which was formerly known as Zaire. They were the last discovered of the great apes by non-indigenous people of Africa and were classified in 1933 at a Belgian museum via a skull which was classified as Pan Paniscus.

Some say that bonobos are the most like humans, without actually being human.  They are in grave danger.  Trying to survive in a war torn country where carnage has been the norm for over a decade, a country where poaching is practiced by many and since bonobos are susceptible to viruses and even the human flu, their numbers are dwindling rapidly. Daily. If you had a town meeting and invited all the bonobos to attend you would most likely have lots of extra seating, as even if they all RSVP'd many would have met their demise after the confirmation was received and before the event was held. They are sold for $60,000 US on the black market for pets and on the other end of the spectrum they are killed for bush meat.  Bonobos shun violence and avoid eating meat. They do not aggressively hunt other mammals and enjoy many of the same pleasures and outings that humans do.

But let's get back to the garden ~ there is a magic garden within the larger garden of the bonobos, a sanctuary called Lola Ya Bonobo ~ founded by Claudine Andre in 1994.  Lola Ya Bonobo translates to "paradise for bonobos" in Lingala , the primary language of Kinshasa. "Friends of the Bonobo"  is a US group of supporters who donate to help the 60 or so bonobos who live in 30 hectares of primary forest.  There is an estimated 5000 bonobos in all of the Congo, but these numbers are also dwindling at even a quicker rate. The sanctuary can not continue to house and feed bonobo orphans and ill bonobos without your help.  Sadly, one of the great apes, the one most like us is the rarest and the most unknown to the rest of the world.  Some of the indigenous people in the Congo state that the bonobo is striving to be human, striving to survive and trying to reach out.  

Here are some curious and wonderful facts about Bonobos

•·      Some bonobos in captivity have learned to use human language, not signing.  They are extremely intelligent and compassionate and communicate via a keyboard. Here is an NPR link that tells the story of Kanzi and Panpaanisha  http://ww.npr.org/templates/story/story.phP?storyld+5503685

•·      In contrast to male dominated war-like chimpanzees, bonobo society is peaceful, and matriarchal

•·      Females rank the highest and they form strong bonds and alliances to further cement their hierarchy

•·      Bonobos unlike chimpanzees do not aggressively hunt other mammals

•·      Indigenous people of the Congo Basin and bonobos eat many of the same foods except for game

•·      Make Love Not War is their commonly known credo. Bonobos are considered the hippies of the animal world. They are considered pan-sexual and often share food before having sex after a meet and greet. A bonobo version of a dinner date with a romantic conclusion. In their society, they apparently use sexuality in order to maintain peaceful and cooperative relations.

•·      Female Bonobos unlike their chimpanzee counterparts have the right to refuse the advances of an interested male

•·      Bonobos have more physical characteristic of humans than any other ape -  pinkish lips and females have mammary glands similar to humans, they have a cute middle part in their hairdo, these are just some examples.  Their natural average life span is around 50 to 55 years, but that is in a perfect world.

•·      Bonobo travel single file on two feet more easily and for a longer period of time than other apes, when not moving swiftly through the trees. When traveling a distance they walk in single file behind each other.

Epicurus also believed that a pleasurable result in the short term must be weighed against the possibility of a greater, more lasting, or more intense pleasure in the long term. Please help bonobos create a lasting garden existence and maintain their peaceful and loving presence in a jungle that offers little to support such gentility and a unique spirit of cooperation. Please pass on the story of their plight and if possible donate to  Friends Of Bonobos http://www.friendsofbonobos.org  Also if you purchase any of these items from the Friends of Bonobos website or at CafePress  http://www.cafepress.com/Bonobofriends. the proceeds directly go to Friends of the Bonobos.

 Family photo from Friends of Bonobos.org  All other photos from Cafe Press/Bonobo Friends

Michelle Viggiano  Phoenix & Scottsdale Plant Based Carpet, Upholstery and Air Duct Green Cleaning http://www.healthyhomeaz.com

As Phoenix area homebuyers look to cash in the winning lottery tickets in their hot little hands, it is worth noting that there is such a thing as biting off more than you can chew.  While market analysts and laypersons alike point to avarice as the primary machination that brought our economy to its current state, buyers need to be watchful that they don't get clobbered by the same pendulum that threatens to come careening back their direction.  As our populace accumulated far more Real property than it could actually afford at the height of the market, buyers today encounter a few substantial risks of their own.  First and foremost is the uncertainty of the status of the product they wish to buy at a deep discount.

This past fall, I was looking at a really sharp mid-century modern condo conversion project in downtown Phoenix.  Prices had come down considerably from their start point, and there were only a couple of occupied units amongst the 40 or so the development had in total.  We knew the opportunity existed to command a terrific bargain.  As a matter of fact, my jaw hit the floor when the developer later called me directly with an incredible offer on the unit my client found most appealing.  She loved the unit, I loved the price.  We were salivating.

And we passed.

I smelled trouble.  If the builder was willing to basically give the unit away to my client, what would prevent him from drastically cutting prices even further for future buyers?  The complex simply had "declining values" written all over it.  More to the point, however, I was concerned with the overall stability of the development.  I didn't want my client to move into a ghost town regardless of the price.

As it happens, our fears were well founded.  The complex, aside from the couple of units that sold a year ago, is now in the hands of the bank.  Lost to foreclosure, lord knows what will happen to the common grounds, let alone the individual units.  The poor occupants who jumped too eagerly must now worry that they will soon have squatters for neighbors and that their values and personal enjoyment of their homes will be further decimated.  As it stands, the prices on the units are now about 50% lower than the smoking deal we were offered back in the fall and declining as I type this.

I have seen too many builders pull out of developments, leaving the inhabitants with vacant lots and plummeting values for neighbors.  I'm not talking about mom & pop builders, either.  We're seeing formerly vibrant national builders circle the drain.

The long and the short of it is that you must protect yourself in this market by keeping an eye on more than the bottom line.  There are tremendous opportunities out there, but you must be dilligent in assessing the full situation.  Be aware of the risks you run when pushing for that little extra something in terms of price.  It's not always just about finding the cheapest thing that you can.

Even in this market, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. 

There are resources at a buyer's disposal that can help you ascertain the stability of a builder or project.  I implore you to use them.  A good place to start is the Arizona Department of Real Estate, which features a list of home builders that are in financial trouble, tagged with mechanic liens or currently undergoing bankruptcy processes. 

By all means, use the current market to your advantage in commanding a great deal, just make sure that you are getting what you think you are stealing.

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