The first big change I noticed was now there was a hefty admission charge to commune with nature. The old decorative sculpting which encased the main entrance doors setting the tone of 'African Jungle' looked the same as it did over 40 years ago. I paused for a minute, looked at every little detail, and did a quick flashback to my youth.
After I passed through the front doors though I found nothing to be the same. What use to be a wide-open viewing concourse with cages lined up on all four sides, was now a series of walkways that weaved in and around various cave-like structures. There were plants and benches spattered here and there. I ventured through the maze towards the far side and listened to the jungle music that emanated from unseen speakers.
Then, I saw her. She was sitting with her back leaning against a cave-like wall, right next to the large Plexiglas display window. She was looking at something on the opposite wall, up high near the ceiling. Approaching her, I looked up and saw a beautiful, hand-painted mural of a jungle canopy scene.
There, on one of the branches, with very colorful plumage, stood a parrot stretching high towards the sky.
I glanced down to Samantha and smiled. She gained some weight over the years and had a potbelly now, but then so did I. There was a small flat spot right near her and I moved closer and sat down. She just sat there and stared at that parrot, and never acknowledged my presence at all. To her; I was just another person that came around to gawk at her, BORING!
She held her massive right hand up to her chin, and with her index finger, she rubbed a small circle pattern on her cheekbone. She focused on that mural scene and appeared to be in deep pensive thought about something, while pondering on that parrot. I imitated her gaze and after a short bit, I too found deep introspective, meditation material from that spot on the wall. So, we just sat there, and pondered together.
I reached to my pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag filled with pipe tobacco, and played around with it in my fingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her drop her hand as she turned her head down to glance at my tobacco. I smiled, but, as soon as I turned my head to look at her she broke off her glance, and went right back to gazing at that parrot again. And then, so did I.
I got up and strolled on over there, and got a real close look at that parrot on the wall, and then it occurred to me; I couldn't tell if that parrot was landing, or just taking off in flight, or just stretching.
So, I returned to my sitting position, right next to Samantha, and without ever glancing at her, we pondered some more on that parrot.
She was looking at my tobacco, and me again, and I wanted so bad to make eye contact with her. I snuck a quick furtive glance in her direction and she instantly jolted her head back and looked up towards that spot on the wall again. Okay, so did I.
I went back to playing some more with my bag of tobacco. I put my fingers in the bag and fumbled around with the tobacco some more and she glanced down again, with irresistible curiosity. I pulled some tobacco out and let her look at it, then I put some to my mouth and pretended chew on it. I snuck another quick glance at her and briefly, just for a second, I made eye contact with her before she threw her head back and stared at our parrot again.
She was being aloof with me and not in a subtle way, so I followed her lead and put my head back and stared at that spot too, again. And soon, she started to check me out again, so this time, I gave her a show. While I looked intently at that parrot on the wall, I vigorously played around with my bag of tobacco. I pulled some out and let it fall through my fingers, back into the bag. I put a big bunch to my mouth and started to chew vigorously. I then put the bag right up to the glass, and, after she made sure I was still staring at our spot, she leaned over, right next to the glass, and looked closely into the bag, real close. I think she wanted some.
So I reached in with my fingers again and pulled out some more and put it too my mouth again, and chewed hard, chomping almost this time. I was going to make her jealous, dad-gum it, for being so aloof with me. Then I got up and walked over to that wall, pretended to study that parrot's lift off, or landing, or whatever, and then, I turned and walked away.
I visited the rest of the zoo and returned about 45 minutes later for a revisit, and WOW!!! I don't know where she got it, she must have tore her bedding apart, but she was now sitting in the middle of what looked to be at least, half a bale of hay, spread out all around her. And, in her mouth, she had a long stem of alfalfa that she chewed on profusely. That stem went up and down, and round and round in circles, all the while, she just stared at our spot on the wall.
I looked down at my scrawny bag of brown pipe tobacco, then back at her lush green grass spread all around her, and just Laughed Out Loud with jealousy. I'd been out done by a gorilla, and I loved it. Dale
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