Saturday, October 11, 2003
there was always that shady spot right under the tree by the algea covered man-made pond
between pennsylvania and maryland there was a wonderland, where the highway stopped stretching and there was a mcdonald's and two all-you-can-eat family buffets. and then there was the zoo.
we found it in it's bare bones stage. when it was dirt paths and the donkeys were still allowed to roam without a fence. when you could toss your feed to the monkeys and the sunbears and the peacocks. in the beginning, there are always less rules. it wasn't too far away from home to go often, but it wasn't close enough for me to ever be disappointed when we visited.
sometimes you could see the legs of deer in the tiger cages, and i remember feeling sad. i could never understand the order of nature -- predators and prey. i liked observing through the bars -- only feet away from cheetahs and tigers and lions. although, i could never understand the cages -- the way they paced back and forth and the way their whiskers hung in frowns. i had overwhelming urges to steal the keys and let everything go in a jumbled mass of reptiles, exotic birds and billy goats. but instead i just watched.
my favorite part was always the petting zoo, except the goats would always put their hooves on my stomach and trample me down for my food, ripping the bag out of my hands or pockets. they would nibble at fingers and toes through my sandals. i was never fond of the big goats, just the babies. it was a special mission to feed them and distract their more grumpy elders who would nudge them out of the way.
there were also llamas, who always curled their long tongues out to pick up the pellets from your outstretched palm. there was one time where i wanted to visit the llamas and i walked into this giant stretch of mud and was stranded on a rock with no shoes. a very muscle-y man picked me up and i squashed around the rest of the day with muddy shoes. i never got close to the llamas that day.
one of the most intriguing parts of the zoo was that the paths led you around in a circle through a wooded area. you were never surrounded by cement and it seemed so much more natural. nothing was forced. you were outside, not confined by fake bridges and special zoned areas for aquatic life and reptiles and big cats and monkeys.
i never did like leaving. there was always a sense of emptiness when i left, something that a stuffed animal could never replace.
¶ 8:23 PM
|
between pennsylvania and maryland there was a wonderland, where the highway stopped stretching and there was a mcdonald's and two all-you-can-eat family buffets. and then there was the zoo.
we found it in it's bare bones stage. when it was dirt paths and the donkeys were still allowed to roam without a fence. when you could toss your feed to the monkeys and the sunbears and the peacocks. in the beginning, there are always less rules. it wasn't too far away from home to go often, but it wasn't close enough for me to ever be disappointed when we visited.
sometimes you could see the legs of deer in the tiger cages, and i remember feeling sad. i could never understand the order of nature -- predators and prey. i liked observing through the bars -- only feet away from cheetahs and tigers and lions. although, i could never understand the cages -- the way they paced back and forth and the way their whiskers hung in frowns. i had overwhelming urges to steal the keys and let everything go in a jumbled mass of reptiles, exotic birds and billy goats. but instead i just watched.
my favorite part was always the petting zoo, except the goats would always put their hooves on my stomach and trample me down for my food, ripping the bag out of my hands or pockets. they would nibble at fingers and toes through my sandals. i was never fond of the big goats, just the babies. it was a special mission to feed them and distract their more grumpy elders who would nudge them out of the way.
there were also llamas, who always curled their long tongues out to pick up the pellets from your outstretched palm. there was one time where i wanted to visit the llamas and i walked into this giant stretch of mud and was stranded on a rock with no shoes. a very muscle-y man picked me up and i squashed around the rest of the day with muddy shoes. i never got close to the llamas that day.
one of the most intriguing parts of the zoo was that the paths led you around in a circle through a wooded area. you were never surrounded by cement and it seemed so much more natural. nothing was forced. you were outside, not confined by fake bridges and special zoned areas for aquatic life and reptiles and big cats and monkeys.
i never did like leaving. there was always a sense of emptiness when i left, something that a stuffed animal could never replace.
¶ 8:23 PM
|
