The connection between Dr. King and Brookfield Zoo

Brookfield Zoo is free to the public from January 1 to February 29th! Amazing. It's a beautiful zoo. The animals appear to be well taken care of and the zoo makes a solid attempt to recreate natural environments, provide enrichment opportunities and educate the public. I can't imagine how hard their job is, something tells me that giraffes are not meant to live in Chicago!

The way I think about animals is ever evolving. This past semester I co-taught a class with Dean Alzada Tipton. She is fabulous! And quite possibly the biggest animal advocate I have ever met. Our class was on the relationship between animals and people. I think I may have mentioned it before. In short, we went over a vast amount of topics from factory farming to clothing to cock fighting to the Kentucky Derby. We discussed class systems, religion, food, the environment, science and medicine, the domestication of dogs, why frogs are important to mankind and more. This class was intense! Alzada put the curriculum together over the summer and as part of my Elmhurst experience I was placed with her for the First Year Seminar course. Alzada had not taught a class here before, having directly stepped into the VP/Dean of faculty position so it was a first of sorts for her too! Our class was interactive and engaging. We completed three service projects too. Our students were challenged and at the end everyone was forever changed. I'm really looking forward to teaching it again next Fall!

Now that you are caught up, you won't feel lost when I say that Matt, Cassidy and I joined Alzada, her husband Greg and their sons Douglas and Andrew on a zoo trip this past Monday. We barely noticed the icy fingers of winter so fascinated were we with the animals. Every zoo trip I learn something new. With a smart two year old in tow, every zoo trip is magical. Cassidy doesn't connect with people quickly- she's friendly but it's not everyone who wins her over in one meeting. From our first dinner at the Tipton home many months ago, Cass has been more than content to grab the hand of "Miss Allaazada" and go! Selfishly this gives Matt and I breathing room on outings such as these :-)

When you see an animal in captivity pacing, odds are it's in distress. The lion you see pictured was not always resting majestically on his perch. His grumbling roars could be heard and felt in other parts of the park. And a few unkind visitors taunted him with their screaming, banging on the poles and glass and provoking behaviors involving a roll of yarn. Our group was a little speechless when we first happened upon this rowdy crowd. If you had never been taught different, how would you know that your actions were doing more harm than good? Would you stop to think that your entertainment should take a backseat to the animal's welfare? At the time there were no zoo personnel present and the episode ended as we approached. But these questions stick with me still.

We weren't down for long. A toddler is good for instant cheer! Walking the habitats with Alzada is awesome because of her vast experience with animals. She and Greg have worked with tigers, wolves, and number of animals I have never heard of! Matt and I can pepper them with questions and not feel stupid for doing so. And because they have kids, albeit teenagers now, they understand when we have the much needed potty breaks, meltdowns and snack times :-) My once full backpack was not so heavy leaving the park!

Munching our way through string cheese, nuts, granola bars, popcorn, apples, carrots, pb&js and chocolate we visited my favorite part- the swamp! It is the neatest building. Tons of kid activities and one very friendly alligator. I do not care for grasshoppers the size of my hand, no matter how nice they are. You won't see pictures of them here. It smells and sounds like a swamp inside this building. You forget you are in a Chicago suburb. And the stuff you learn! I like seeing the snakes and birds as much as I like reading the exhibits on why swamps prevent flooding and the Okefenokee people. Cass was "rowing" a boat, walking the docks, checking the weather and cooking up po' boys. Usually I am an ocean lover- put me on the beach or in an aquarium and I'm one happy gal! But this swamp habitat was incredible.

We did venture in to see the polar bears and the penguins. There is something about fish that is just mesmerizing to Cassidy. She flitted from tank to tank, laughing and pointing just as fast as the schools of fish she was obsessed with! And we all were a little entranced by the stingrays.

So much fun on a holiday! And in a weird kind of way very fitting. I'm not going to hold you here much longer. But I would be remiss in this post if I didn't briefly look at this day off and why it's a national holiday. Dr. Martin Luther King Day. A day to celebrate his achievements and everyone's part during the Civil Right's Movement. His ideas of peace and service to our fellow man and the encouragement to take action and love one another. To honor all those people before us who risked their lives in hopes of a better future. To remember our history.

I like to think that same spirit should be expanded to include the animals we share this Earth with. And to the Earth itself. You can call it liberal hippy dippy nonsense if you like. And you can bemoan organic natural whole grain fresh farm stand as an expensive marketing ploy while unwrapping those processed chicken nuggets from micky d's. But at the end of the of the day, all we have is each other and this one brilliant, vibrant, enchanting world that I believe God made us stewards of. Because I'm not moving to Mars...