Random Summer Thoughts – Zoos

About the Zoo

• Get ready to be blown away. This just in: zoos have reciprocal memberships. (You’re laying on the floor in shock, aren’t you?)
• Translation? Snazzy zoo members get free admission to all area zoos–Binder Park, Potter Park and Toledo–and a lot of others around the country too. Who knew?
• So, in case you’re wondering, YES, the Cunninghams ARE now members.
• And yes, Chuck did buy the free refillable “members only” cup to prove it. Jealous much?
• Now all we need are some matching zoo polos with our names monogrammed on them.
• 
• Chuck says the membership pays us after 3 visits.
• (I can’t wait to get those big fat checks in the mail from the zoo. ;)
• When we walk through the zoo, I continually yell “VIP, Make way for the members” to embarrass Chuck.
• But I occasionally worry the cotton candy residue on my face may subtract from my elitism.
• The exotic animals bore the emperor to death. However, he points and shrieks in sheer delight at every last Michigan squirrel or robin that crosses our path.
• The only exotic animal he was at all impressed with was the “DinoRoar” below. (In his defense, when you think about it, dinos didn’t soar; they roared. Boy genius? I think so.)
• 
• He only knows the names of a few animals–the ones that correspond to the Fisher Price farm. But as a rule, he referred to everything else–ground hogs, goats and rhinos–as doggies.
• A few people laughed at him when he continually screamed “Come here, doggies!” at the rhinos, but I think that might be a good rule of life. When in doubt, call it a dog.
• We came across a “Red Panda” exhibit at both the Potter Park and Binder Park zoos. Below is a picture of a red “panda”. At both zoos, there were little signs that said “some scientists doubt the Red Panda’s classification as a Panda and rather suggest it belongs to the raccoon family”. Gee. You think? =) …But…it looks…just…like…a…panda.
• 
• Oh and here’s some irony for you:  in his tour on the train, the zoo guide explained that in Africa, communities don’t have the financial resources to build elaborate zoos with cages like here in the states. Their animals just have to run wild in their open, free natural habitats. Poor underprivileged African animals. ;)

Special note to blog followers: You may have noticed I get distracted and start blogging all kinds of random mayhem over the summer. But be assured, there will be more updates in the Women Series, the Volunteer Posts, the Outreach Exercises, and the Writing Stuff in the near future. More life stories to come too. All in good time, loves.