Goodbye, Christmas...

Dear Glob,

Today we de-Christmasized our house. Although post-Holiday cleanup is never any fun, this year was especially hard. It seemed like just yesterday the Roommates and I were picking out our perfect Tree… And now we were dumping it on the side of the road to be mulched. The Whale and P. told me that Bronx Zoo (foreshadowing, ha!) gives their discarded Trees to the Grizzly Bears, who have a grand old time tearing them to shreds. At least someone is enjoying the end of the Holiday season.

Just as I was wallowing deeper into post-Holiday depression, P. and the Whale, with their impeccable timing, called to invite me to the last day of the Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights. Desperately trying to hold on to the last dregs of Holiday spirit, I happily tagged along. Here are some highlights from our trip the Zoo:

1. Inside the Reptile House, a mouse, presumably dead, laid overturned on a branch. Perched not even a centimeter away, a Constrictor snake, as still as a stone, stared intently at his prey. The Whale, P. and I all waited for him to pounce, but even after we had returned to his cage after perusing the rest of the Reptiles, there they both were, snake and mouse, exactly in the same tantalizing position. Maybe this was fate’s way of keeping me a Carnivore.*

2. Watching a mouse nervously cling to the wire ceiling of its cage.

3. Making and eating a S’more, although I got melted marshmallow stuck all over my hair. Yum!

4. Petting and feeding sheep, cows and goats at the Children’s Zoo. The goats stole the show by being extra lovable and soft – who would have thought? While the Whale and P. remained enamored by the goats, I watched the peacocks sleeping high up in a tree, not knowing until that moment that peacock could fly.

5. Sharing a hot pretzel with mustard at the Dancing Crane Café, and catching a surprising Italian Karaoke performance.

6. Riding the Bug Carousel – I got to ride a Carolina Beetle, and even had my picture taken by the Zoo staff (to be posted in 1-3 days). The Whale and P., who is still very much pregnant, opted for the Dung Beetle pushing a “dung ball bench,” but then moved to a Honeybee, which P. rode while the Whale nervously stood beside her like a nervous parent. Ah, a Garp in the making.

All in all, I had a wonderful time - Thanks the Whale and P.! Although it was a bit weird to walk around listening to Christmas music a couple of weeks removed from the 25^th, in the end it turned out to be a great way to say one last “Farewell” to the season.

“So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!”

*After watching SAP’s snake chow down on a couple of baby mice, and unsuccessfully trying to save one, I became a vegetarian for over 3 years and only recently began to regularly eat meat.