The Zoo

Gabriel officially turns 25 on September 4th, and since we both had the day off yesterday, we celebrated. It was a great day.

Blueberry pancakes in the morning then a trip to the Seattle Zoo. Though I have mixed feelings about zoos, they really are a wonderful experience. We both love animals, and to be within touching distance of so many amazing creatures is undeniably enjoyable. The Woodland Park Zoo is large and lush, and you feel transported to a host of other worlds far from Seattle. It's just up the street from us, maybe a mile or so. We walk Samantha in Woodland Park, just along its eastern edge.

It was a beautiful day. Crisp and cool but sunny. Autumn is definitely just around the corner. Gabriel worked on his photography and got some great shots. I did a lot of very gratifying people watching, ever reaffirming my love of humanity and my contempt for people.

Apparently, this giraffe has serious gender identity issues. A most assuredly well intentioned mother insisted on calling him (her?) Olivia. She had read about her (him?) and repeatedly told her children that his (her?) name was "Olivia". She even commented on how the giraffe approached when he (she?) heard her (his?) name. I think this stately creature was approaching to try to get this obviously anatomically naive woman to notice his not inconsequential penis and testicles dangling just at her eye level.

On at least three separate occasions, our tympana were assaulted by the ADHD-soda pop-impotent parent-driven rantings of a little boy whose most memorable quote was, "it has pink butt cheeks." Memorable, not because it wasn't true, but because he screamed it no fewer than 22 times. I thought to myself that if he were there with my mother, he, too would have had pink butt cheeks. Pink from a spanking--not from the Macaque's Darwinian acquisition.

And finally, standing outside this stunning gorilla's dwelling, I overheard two teen lovebirds. The boy, with awe and reverence in his voice, said, "it's so amazing that we descended from them." The girl immediately withdrew her arm from his waist, straightened her back, and with real indignation replied, "you honestly believe that?" He looked stunned, maybe even wounded. She followed with, "well, if we descended from them, why do they still look like that?" I was struck by two things. First, I was deeply impressed with the genuine respect this young man had for this creature as our ancestor. Second, I was astounded at this girl's ignorance and wondered was it the fault of zealot parents and a closed life or a society so concerned with faith and unfounded beliefs that we allow our children to be fed "alternate theories" of an essentially uncontested fact. I was saddened.

Happily exhausted from our day out, we returned home and napped. For the Grand Finale to Gabriel's birthday celebrations we went to a late night movie--Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween II. Brutal, dark, and scary--just the way we like 'em.