Monday Musings

 Rozann and I were chatting this morning

and talking about memories.

My earliest memory is the one with the scissors.

We were VERY young.

My next earliest memory is when I got lost at the zoo.

I think I've told this story before, but if not,

here we go again.

Mom LOVED to go to the zoo and she would

randomly announce she wanted to go to the zoo

and she would load up the car with us 4 girls

and any of our friends who got permission to go.

Well, I remember Rozann was in the stroller

(and I seem to remember the black leather coat

with the fringe, that seems to go with this memory,

but that would mean she was older than I think....

anyhow. Memory is a funny thing.)

Anyhow.

We went to the children zoo and looked at all

the baby animals they had there.

There was a bear "pit" with red metal stairs

like the ones on a slide that went up  to a catwalk

above the baby bears and then you went back

down another set of red stairs on the other end.

We all went up and we all went down.

Well, not ALL.

I was enthralled with the baby bears and when

I finally was done watching them, I looked around

and I was alone.

So I went down and looked for Mom and the kids

and they were nowhere in the children's zoo.

So I started to cry.

And some kind zoo worker took me to

"lost and found" and while they announced

over the loud speaker for Mrs Stoddard to come

collect her little girl, they bought me an ice cream cone.

We were in a backroom and there was this picture

on the wall.

There was a macaw in the other room,

I could hear it, and some other animals,

and I was SURE there were dogs in the other room,

but they were playing cards and DRINKING BEER!

I was honestly terrified.

They were doing something I had been taught was BAD.

And I was so afraid what would happen if they

opened the door and found me in there.

Well... anyway.

Mom had left the children's zoo and walked across

the grass field over to the playground and broke

out the bag of sandwiches she brought for lunch.

And then at some point she did a head count

and realized one was missing and as soon as 

she gathered everybody up and headed back to the zoo

she could hear the announcement.

(They apparently don't pipe it to the playgound...)

So she went and rescued me.

And all was well.

But I am eternally traumatized.

(NO, I'm really not.... in fact I TOTALLY forgot

this memory until one night when I was working

an overnight in 1980 at Dairy Herd Investigators,

punching in dairy cow information, which is a

MIND NUMBING job, so my brain was wandering

and pulled this memory up for my entertainment!)

Anyhow.

Good story.

With a visual.

You're welcome.

And now I'm finished teaching my class

and I'm off to make us some lunch before

Kyle heads back to the farm.

(He had to come home and clean the carb

on his little generator - had some trash in there.)

I just heard it start, so he'll be coming in soon.

Have a fun Monday!