ZOO

We got off at the park, which is near the Zoo. Some dumb teenagers followed us. (dumb in a friendly way) And they said, “Y'all going to the Zoo?” And we said, “Yeah.” They asked for the direction, and Cribby said, “I don’t know where we’re going.” But they followed us anyway, for miles and miles, talking about pot, bar fights, etc. At one point, we stopped to gaze at a group of old geezers doing Tai Chi in the park, under a nice tree. The three began haranguing them with kung fu sounds, and we made sure to walk faster. Someone then asked the young kids to “spare some time taking a picture of us?” Soon they were out of sight. We passed trees, bikers, and rollerskaters, just havin’ fun. The tree branches hung so low they touched the ground, it’s big vines hugged the trunk.

We made it to the Zoo at noon right as it started to drizzle. First we came upon a group of flamingos, and saw that they were pink. The tree canopies ahead had a resemblance to the wild terrain of Jurassic Park, and we peed a little because we were scared of Dinosaurs. But dinosaurs don’t exist anymore.

Once again we encountered the three southern potheads. They smiled as the elephants took shits into their small dirty enclosure. If I was an elephant, I would not like it one bit. Instead of being in a small place, I’d rather be in a savanna, where I could roam, roam the world, find other elephants, and make love. (in memory of issac hayes) The tigers were next. They yawned, and licked themselves. One time a tiger got up, and walked away. At this point the rain began to fall, harder then ever before. A father tried to give his baby shelter underneath the coca cola machine thatched hut, but there was no room for us. We stood there for many minutes, getting partially drenched. The rain would not give up. But when we saw the potheads in their beautiful flight, walking through the cold wah wah pouring from the sky with no cares in the world, no fear of the wetness, we were inspired to jump out of our boundaries and take one step, even if it was only just one step, into the rainy daylight.

It wasn’t so bad. Still, our instinct told us to get out of the pneumonia inducing rainfall, so we ran from roof to roof, barely enjoying the little animals. We tried hard to make sense of the map, but maps are very big, and sometimes one gets confused at their vastness. One part of the map has a panda drawing, one has a bear, other parts have restroom facilities, roman candy shops; but were we looking for these things? No. We were looking for a way out of this madness. What fools these mortals be.

Almost too soaked to continue on, we stumble upon a group of children and parents waiting for the rain to settle down. Relieved, we sit there for ten minutes, drying off, and calling Geoffrey to ask when this storm would end. To our dismay, he couldn’t figure out how to go to weather.com. Instead he searched for the weather on CNN and produced no results. It began to PETER out…(get it?) time to move on. Before leaving, we watched, a shoeless todler clad in plastic bag suit climb into a mysterious yellow playtube. He pranced around inside, and we caught glimpses of his happy face exploring the funzone. His grandmother watched in joyful anticipation. When he appeared on the other side, he uttered his magnum opus with his palms up in wonder…“It’s all wet!” The grandma responded, “It is?” in childish banter. He returns bowlegged back to his home.

Passing the great merry go round, the Haagan Das corridor, the debunked safari adventure machine, we spot the wild dogs lying in the grass. They are free, like a David Lynch film. There they sit, watching the grass, not even glancing at each other. Because, they know that the other one is there; they don’t have to look. But, they are not truly free. They are closed in by the zoo administration. What do you expect from the human race? They can not appreciate the untamed beauty of the dog. Actually, if they were untamed, I wouldn’t be able to see them. In conclusion, who cares.

One time, Chris stared at a monkey for a full minute. Full fuckin’ eye contact. He was black and white, with a long ass tail. He was sitting, his head turned slightly towards the Crib. Chris later commented that he felt like he was staring into the eyes of a defeated homeless man that lost the will to live years ago. Now he’s just searching for crusty, slimy beignets in the garbage.

We saw a lot of animals, is basically what I’m trying to get at. That’s what happens at Zoos.

-Peter

(Source: iamaddictedtocoffee)