Thankfulness/Z
Zap, Zebra, zero, zipper, zeal, zealot, zit, zoo.
Boy, “z” is hard. For one thing, I’m on the train home from Chicago and don’t have the option of the internet to find words beginning with “z”. So I’m having to wing it.
But I do like zoos, so zoos it is. Now I realize that there are some people who have an issue with zoos and I understand the logic. In a perfect world, animals should be allowed to roam freely in their native environment. But it’s also true that many animals are being slaughtered by those who are interested only in profits. I particularly love elephants and they are almost extinct due to man’s greed. So I’m grateful to those who’ve understand this and have tried to protect certain species.
Without zoos how would so many children, especially those who are limited in travel opportunities, ever get to see gorillas, lion, tigers, giraffes, elephants, etc.? Books aren’t enough. Television isn’t enough. They need to watch and observe. I’ve been to many zoos, here in the United States and elsewhere.
However, I’ve never been to what I consider would the best “natural” zoo-Africa. Of all the countries I’ve visited, that’s the one I’ve wanted to see the most. I associate zoos with Africa although many of the animals we see in zoos are from India, South America and China. I just like Africa. So I tell myself if I ever get there, I’ll see all the wild animals there are to see, even if I know I won’t. I mean really, a panda in Africa. I don‘t think so.
I like watching the monkeys cavort and pick fleas off each other and I really like watching gorillas. They, too, are being slaughtered mercilessly. The movie “Gorillas in the Mist”, will give you much insight into the gorilla and also the greediness of man.
What I don’t understand though are those people who think a wild animal can be trained as a “pet”. There are numerous reports of privately owned wild animals turning on their owner. The animal is often killed even though it was simply doing what a wild animal does. How foolish to hold an animal responsible for what a foolish owner does.
Anyway, I hope you get to visit a zoo if you haven’t already. Not only are they educational, they’re fun
Yea!!! I did it. A blog a day during the busiest time of the year isn’t easy. What was I thinking? There were often many different choices for some letters. Sometimes I purposefully didn’t choose the obvious, like love for “l” or family for “f”. Sometimes, I chose something I really had to work hard to write about because I like to challenge myself. Sometimes it was painful, like yesterday. Sometimes I had little choice. (By the way don’t you find it strange that the closer you get to the end of the alphabet, like with x, y, z, the fewer the choices? I mean seriously, why? I don’t who created the alphabet but I wonder why an “x”, “y” and a “z”? I did find words starting with “x” very interesting because many of them had some sort of reference to the color yellow.)
I am thankful for so much more than what I wrote about-God, family, friends, my old house, “teeny-tiny cabin”, my church. I’m thankful for hobbies and interests. I’m thankful for choices and challenges, hurts and hugs. For cappuccinos and travel. For work and play. If I tried to list every little thing I’m thankful for, like when it rains and the drops of water bead up on my Lady’s Mantle like little pieces of diamonds, I would probably be writing for weeks.
(I’m thankful that I was led to start a blog. (I wish I could be thankful that I’ve got it looking the way it should with all the bells and whistles I find appealing on other blogs, but I’m just not there yet. Probably need to upgrade. I love letters and words. I love reading. I even love dictionaries so balogging is a natural fit for me. I’m thankful for that, too.)
