Zoos

I both understand and do not understand zoos. Oh, I get that they are establishments meant for enterprise and that would just as well take your twenty-two dollars at the gate only to have you go through a revolving turnstile right back to the parking lot, which you also paid a handsome two dollars less to park your vehicle. However, I’m afraid we wouldn’t so easily surrender that portion of our paycheck if that’s all they had to offer. What do they have to tantalize you through the gift shops and slushee stations then? Well, animals...being animals - but not exactly. Sure, they offer a more concentrated version of the exotic variety than you may see in your backyard. Though that is typically the case, I think we are still a trifle bit disappointed with the spectacle when we see the whole arrangement. We want to see gazelles leaping and bounding on rugged hills and mountains of spice; and though they may have an exotic okapi - which looks like a male zebra got very confused in the presence of a female gazelle - all they do is stand behind the plastic rock. We want to see a leviathan, with its double coat of armor, rows of shields, and boiling cauldron at its nose, and all we get is a slime covered adolescent alligator that barely budges until a few chicken legs are tossed its way. We want to see a behemoth, with its tail swaying like a cedar tree, and instead are greeted by an African elephant who, though somewhat impressive in its own right, has a tail like a small frayed rope. Just when all hope is nearly abandoned, we greet the otters. It is here we are not expecting much, which is part of the reason why we are impressed, but not all. The otter, though unimpressive in stature or display, has a tireless stamina that seems to be devoted entirely to play. Here, we are reminded that life before the Fall was easy, enjoyable and endlessly swell. Work was play, and play was productive. With the otter, we get to see Edenic energy at its closest approximation. The otter is a ray of hope, that one day, chimps will sign and sing with us, parrots will praise with us, dogs will flip backwards with us, horses will be our energy efficient locomotives, birds will fly under us as we fly over them, and the lion will not eat us. Yes, we can do all of that now to varying degrees, but how grand it will be when we can do that always, and see - really see - it with new eyes.