ZOO ATLANTA

Three years ago I went to Zoo Atlanta on my 57th birthday.  My how things

had changed.  The animals seemed happier and the habitats were awesome.

I've been to the Honolulu, London, and San Diego Zoo's, all embracing "natural".

Growing up, I remember cages with bars or glass.  My family went there on

Sundays after church.  My favorite exhibits were the lions, monkeys, and bears.

We were always excited to see Willie B, a Silver Back Gorilla.  Back then, seeing

him behind a glass wall with a T.V. and a tire swing seemed pretty cool,  27 years

alone.  Not cool.  I heard that in 1988 he was moved outside with others, and

raised a family.  He was the oldest gorilla to have fathered offspring in the US.

I'm glad he got to experience life in the new zoo.  

After the zoo we would have snow cones from vendors outside the gate.

I would have grape, Jay orange, Daddy cherry, and Mama, plain ice.

Pink Flamingos are my favorite birds.

On my 10th birthday, Jay and I were at my grandparents.  We were playing

outside when Mama and Daddy drove up.  They had us close our eyes and

placed our gift (Jay and I are a week apart in B'days) on a table.  When we

opened our eyes, they had us remove the sheet covering our gift. I screamed

when I saw a 3 month old monkey in a large cage with a swing.  Without

hesitation, I named him Jasper.  He came to me as soon as they opened the 

cage.  He was mine, just ask me.  Don't shoot me, but I did buy doll clothes

for him.  Mama made him scrambled eggs every morning and gave him a 

bath once a week.  He hated men, and bit my grandfather once, when he

tried to catch him when Jasper got out.  When we were together, he would 

always sit on my shoulder.  Little did I know what was to come.  

We were having breakfast at the end of our trip to Gatlinburg, TN

when Mama noticed me scratching my head.  She asked me to stop,

but I kept scratching.  It wasn't until the blood on my fingers made her 

look at my head.  I scratched myself raw but that wasn't the worst of it.

She saw lice.  I might as well have had leprosy.  Remember, it was 

the 60's, just before the "love ins' and just past the "up tights". 

We were headed back to Atlanta, breakfast still hot on a table back

in Gatlinburg.  She had Dr. Dunbar meet us at his office.  He confirmed 

it and recommended some nasty shampoo and a comb.  This still isn't

the worst of it.  This was Sunday, Monday my hair was cut off, and

Tuesday Jasper was gone.  Still not the worst of it.  

Daddy was at work and I have no idea where I was.  It was left to Mama 

and Jay to take Jasper to ... you guessed it...the zoo.   

That Sunday we went to visit him.  He was in one of those glass cages.

We saw him sitting on an iron shelf at the back of the cage, while the

Cebus monkeys played.  We all yelled his name, hoping he could hear

us through the glass.  He looked up, saw us,  jumped down and

ran to the glass.  He had both hands on the glass, licking it and crying.

Everyone noticed us crying and people started to gather around.  

That day was the worst day of my childhood.  

The following Sunday, the same thing happened.  By the 3rd Sunday,

he was no longer mine.  He became a Cebus monkey. The 4th

Sunday, the cage was empty.  I was so upset, I went around asking

about the Cebuses.  The attendant said that they had been transferred

to California.  That was 50 years ago.

I know now it was the right thing to do.  At 10, not so much.

I loved a monkey named Jasper, a cat named Kenike, and a 

dog named Shelly.  I've been very blessed to have shared my

life with them and think about them all the time.  Each was a loss 

in a different way. That day three years ago was a good day at 

the zoo.  There was nothing there to remind me of Jasper.  

Maybe the "New Zoo" isn't freedom, but compared to the

zoos of the 60's, freer is better.  

Empty are the eyes of animals in cages.

2013

P.S.  Mama swore me to secrecy.  So, it's up to you to keep

the secret.  After all, you're the only one I told.

And...to this day, Jay throws away any combs of his if anyone

touches or uses it...

One last thing.  Jasper got away one day and was spotted by 2
children several miles away.  The boy pointed to the tree outside
and said to his five year old sister, "Theres a monkey in our tree".
That little girl is now Jay's wife,  Kay.