I like to think that there's a big difference between acting stupid
and being stupid, but periodically I have blurred that line. The ability
to ignore red flags of reason was a trait I picked up from my father.
It's never intentional, but like many maladaptive behaviors
it just weaves its way into one's life story.
A Beautiful, Horrifying Experience
When my daughter was just a toddler, my wife and I took her to
the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee. Relatively few animals were confined
to small cages and most, such as the grey wolves, had large enclosures.
All three of us enjoyed aimlessly wandering, as we took in the
marvels of God's handiwork. By late afternoon however, I started
to wonder. How could any respectable zoo not have a big cat area?
We turned onto the only remaining asphalt path which eventually
led to a huge enclosure in the trees. Bordering the path was an old
split-rail fence. And set back from that was a tall heavy-duty
anchor fence surrounding the enclosure. A small cement building sat
in the front corner, surrounded by a bright halo of the setting sun.
It was then that I got to "thinking." Even with my toddler on my
shoulders, it would be so easy to just step over that fence. What mortal
could resist? As we neared the dark building, the sun's glare eased,
and my eyes started to adjust. I saw a heavy door with a few bars in its
opening. As I started to look in, there was an enormous WHAM as a
Siberian tiger pounced and shook that door. The encounter lasted a mere
second but I still vividly recall that amazing animal eying my precious
daughter like she was some twenty-five pound Big Mac. "Oh Shit," was
all I could get out as I slithered away.
Over the years I've thought about this little incident many times and it
still gets my juices flowing. Then there are the lessons, the biggest
being a new perspective on those ridiculous warnings that we all detest.
"Don't carry packages from strangers onto airplanes," or "Don't operate
chainsaws while on mind-altering drugs." Those messages are for everyday
people, all too much like me.
No comments:
Post a Comment