This little guy is a meerkat. He is currently acting as sentry, watching out for predators while all the other meerkats go about their daily business. She (or he, not sure which) and her gang are part of the meerkat exhibit at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (otherwise known to the locals by it’s old name, the wild animal park or WAP for short). Dad always like to stop at the meerkats and watch them for a bit. I think they reminded him of prairie dogs in Kansas.
Mom and I went to the WAP on Thursday for a little outing. Mom loves to sit and watch the gorillas. Many years ago mom and dad would go to the park at least once a week and mom got to know the gorillas very well. She would be able to tell you all about each one. About their personalities, what they liked and didn’t like and could tell what kind of day they were having just by looking at them. She watched several of the babies grow up. Her favorite was Trib, a silverback that was the troop leader from the early 70’s until his death in 1993. His replacement was Winston, a silverback that mom says is a wimp compared to Trib.
We didn’t stay at the park very long, which is fine with me. I grew up fascinated by the Wild Animal Park. I always thought it would be neat to work there. For some reason I figured working there was not for common folk like myself, but my very good friend from high school proved me wrong on that. He is now a senior condor keeper there and I am so jealous of him. He is just lucky that I got him interested in bird in the first place 🙂 However, the park has undergone a lot of changes over the past 30 years since I first went there. It is much more commercial with silly gimmick money making ventures like a hokey zip line ‘ride’. I realize they need to make money, but to me the changes are far too radical for my liking. I find it difficult even recognizing the place anymore. Yesterday mom and I were trying to figure out where the heck the bridge from the gorilla enclosure down to Nairobi village went. Finally we asked someone and they said that it had been removed. Not sure why that was necessary, but I suppose there was some good reason. I will continue to go there sometimes, but it sort of bums me out seeing the changes. Besides, what used to be a pretty short walk from the entrance to the gorillas, is now a marathon for mom. She was kinda tuckered out from the walking. Still she got to see the new baby gorilla and that made her very happy.
My n
ephew was supposed to arrive here late today for a weekend visit. He ended up getting here around 1:30 am this morning instead of the expected evening. Mom was sure happy to see him regardless of what time he actually got here. She really loves spending time with her grandkids and wishes that it happened more often. Andrew, mom and I went out to breakfast this morning at Charlies (one of dad’s favorite places). This afternoon she, Andrew and Jason went to Fry’s Electronics to get her a new mouse for her computer while I trimmed one of the trees in the back yard and did the dishes (after napping of course). The temperature cooled off this evening, it has been so dang hot here the past week, so we sat out on the front porch for a little bit this evening. Mom has been doing very well the past week. She has mixed getting business taken care of while managing to play and relax. She finally balanced her books (I think anyway) and got a lot of the tasks done that needed to be handled after dad died (i.e. getting his name off things). Seeing her relax in the cool evening on the front porch was enjoyable. She has not been as wound up and tense as she was last week. She has an appointment with the oncologist on Monday, which I hope will be good news in terms of a plan for further treatment.
Tonight we had a game night. Jason, Andrew, mom and I played a game of zilch (a dice game). She really likes that game because there isn’t much to it. Six dice, a pad of paper and something to write with is all that is needed. No game board with tons of pieces to account for when play time is over. Normally mom can play a couple games of zilch, but tonight she could only handle one. I might have mentioned in an earlier blog that mom’s weight loss has left her with very little padding on her backside so sitting for long periods of time is very difficult unless it is a very soft surface like the couch. Even then she has to shift occasionally. So even though she was sitting on a pillow, her bum was tired after one game. Still, one game or twenty, it was nice to play a game and have some family time. Doing things like that help make you feel normal.
Andrew will be here until Sunday sometime, far too short a period for mom, but she will take any amount of time she can get with him. He got to see the humidor that Mike made him today as well. I think he is pretty excited to get it setup and get his collection of stogies in it. Andrew will have to entertain mom this weekend, because I will be busy parking cars at the fairgrounds. While it isn’t difficult work and isn’t much fun, it is still gives me a little bit of walking around money. Something that an otherwise unemployed person like to have occasionally.
Well, I think that sums up the day. We shall see what fun stuff tomorrow brings!