It must be “Spam Day.” because a lot of it came in to this site overnight.  It takes awhile to clear it all out, as most are insincere comments with links to buying jerseys, ordering baby gates, and consulting psychics.  I might consider a psychic, since it’s been a couple of years since I’ve had a reading.  “I see post #166 in your future.”  In the present tense, however, the trash is out and it took 45 minutes to vacuum and dust this morning. so it’s time to focus on this, post #165: Life can be a Zoo.  Over “her” weekend, my wife told me that she thought I was turning into a “homebody.”  We took a little trip to the Oregon Zoo because she was adamant about going somewhere with her “free-from-work” time.  “I just can’t sit inside all day like you can,” she pleaded.  I, on the other hand, was perfectly content at my desk, after our one-hour run/walk with the dogs.  I planned to read, write, and watch the All-Star Selection Show on TV, but instead I joined her on the Zoo excursion.

I perfectly understand that when you’re working all week long, the weekend is precious and you want to cram as much fun as possible into it.  I have more free time during the week, so the weekends are just like any other day for me now, and no cramming is necessary.  Also, we just got back from a week of travel that always takes a lot out of me.  Being called a “homebody” is kind of an insult.  We’ve been on the road (see post #163) at least one-third of my retirement.  I think that 10 days a month travel and 20 days at home is a good balance.  Zoo animals are homebodies – they don’t get to go anywhere!

I don’t feel caged-in here at home.  I’m outside getting fresh air for at least an hour-and-a-half every day.  If it’s sunny outside, I’ll read on the back deck, and the dogs require at least six outings every day.  Twice a week I’ll join a friend for lunch and run errands in the car.  That’s more than enough driving for me, after years of commuting back and forth to work.  I have housework chores to do, bills to pay, mail to read, books to finish, documentaries and movies to watch, and friends to stay in touch with.  Somehow, my days go by quickly and I’m content.  My wife isn’t ready for this yet!  She still has a work mission to accomplish, and the energy to go with it.  I liked watching the black bear, napping on its back in the shade.  She was more like the monkeys, hopping from tree to tree.  “Hey, Hey, We’re The Monkees.”  They were too busy singing, to put anybody down…. You homebody, you!

We had ice cream and an elephant ear, and enjoyed being a kid again.  She suggested that while I was being a “homebody” today, I should write about our day at the zoo. She reminded me of other Zoo excursions we’ve made, including an event for the environmental group SOLVE that was apparently held at the Oregon Zoo.  I mistakenly thought this was our first time to visit!  I do remember getting to meet the Bald Eagle, Jack, after my wife stimulated my not-so-trusty…rusty memory.    I thought the bird looked familiar as we had walked by it earlier, but I couldn’t see its name badge.  Jack had only one-eye, so it didn’t recognize me either.  The poor thing had been lead-poisoned through  eating caucuses that had been shot by hunters using lead bullets.  A Zoo campaign was in effect to encourage hunters, if they continue to insist on killing,  to use copper bullets instead.  Animal or human, we all have to worry about guns.  However, if you’re in a cage or a homebody like me, you have less chance of being shot. Touche!

We’ve been to the Cincinnati Zoo, the Denver Zoo, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the Decatur, Illinois Zoo, the Austin Zoo, and now the Oregon zoo (twice).  The Decatur Zoo hosted us for several “Boo at the Zoo” events, and I once even got to pet a lion.  Indianapolis did an annual tasting event called “Zoobilation,” where you wore stuffy tuxedos in the hot, humid summer weather.  It was one of my wife’s favorite events, while I would have rather stayed home. One year I somehow managed to lose the pricey tickets, but we got in anyway.  “Zoo after Dark” events were also on our social calendar, as founding members.  To be quite honest, the Oregon Zoo was one of my favorites, because visitors are sheltered from the hot sun by the gorgeous forests that surround it, and the pathways are elevated to provide exceptional overhead views.  The elephant ears, however, were not the best we’ve had.  The D.C. Zoo was outstanding because of the Pandas. We’ve also watched the movies, “We Bought A Zoo,” and “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” dined at Zoot, had a drink at the Disney World Dolphin Hotel’s Bluzoo, and had our will prepared by Legal Zoom, since these variations on the word “zoo” all showed up when I searched our “Diary.”  The “Diary” aids in memory recall, and sure enough that first visit to the Oregon Zoo was in there.

I do vaguely remember a trip to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago that I went on through a school Field Trip.  I bought a bear with a thermometer in its belly, and recall the disappointment of losing it.  There was also a black panther that escaped from the South Bend Zoo, that haunted my dreams at night.  At some point, it was seen in my childhood neighborhood, so my imagination would see its yellow eyes looking in my window when I reluctantly went to bed at night.  Fortunately, there are no panthers at the Oregon Zoo!  We did enjoy the Penguins, reminiscent of the Monterey Aquarium and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  There were no Jokers, no caged Robins, and only a Bat Bridge instead of a Bat Mobile.

When you look up the definition of zoo in the dictionary , the informal  meaning is “a situation characterized by confusion and disorder.”  Synonyms include circus, madhouse, maelstrom, hullabaloo, and free-for-all.  The Oregon Zoo did not fit this description.  There was no hullabaloo at this zoo!  The animals were not really free at all, and there were no circus acts, just a bird show.  It was well organized, with the exception of the ice cream line.  In thinking back, work was often a zoo, a true madhouse, and I can see where if you have a lot of children, then life could be a zoo.   We certainly saw a lot of that at the Zoo.  I’m glad I wasn’t a “homebody” yesterday, and that I experienced the sights and sounds of the Zoo, if not so much the smells.  Well, the sun is coming out, so I’m going to leave my office cage, and do some reading on the back porch.