that costs extra

if my blog was an album, this would be its title track.
i went to the zoo today. we started with discovery bay. i still won’t pet the sharks–it’s not as bad as snake skin, but i still won’t touch them. we watched the dolphins for awhile, but we decided it would be better to come back for the show (which didn’t start for another 40 minutes–we ended up missing it anyway). next we walked through the indoor exhibits. we watched the white cheeked gibbons for a long time…they have amazingly long arms. the female was really active. she kept trying to get the male to come swing with her–but she finally gave up. and so did we. he didn’t look like he was going to budge anytime soon.
the highlight of the day (and the reason we missed the dolphin show) was the slow loris. the slow loris is incredible. when you can’t see its face, it almost looks like a baby polar bear way off in the distance. it moves across the ground the way a polar bear moves–but almost in slow motion. its movements are deliberate. incredibly intense. it doesn’t move like a turtle. it’s slower, and its movements are continuous. watching makes you want to hold your breath as it takes each step. we watched the slow loris for at least 20 minutes. if i could take care of a zoo animal, it would be the slow loris. no questions asked. i just want to hold it in my arms. the slow loris is nocturnal; it curls up in a ball all day and then walks alone at night, slowly and intensely. i can’t describe it any other way. intense. like each action, each movement, takes an incredible amount of concentration. it’s beautiful and painful at the same time. not unlike a trip to the zoo.
not everyone gets a pond. i’m sure there is a political element to that…the benefactors gave x number of dollars for the kamongo dragon’s living space, so he gets a pond but the less fortunate sun bear does not. but not all animals like water. some are probably afraid of it. it’s possible that i was too hard on mrs. rosauer. i’m sure she takes good care of her dog.
i’ve never had a pet. i can certainly understand why people have pets…i often wish i had a dog. i think that’s the only pet that i could ever see myself having if i lived by myself. maybe someday.