Can We Talk 2

Our Own Private Zoo

         I was talking with the kids in my family Sunday and brought up the idea of opening our own zoo when they get older. They were into it. The six year old is already thinking of being a veterinarian. I told them we'd have to save our money to buy some wooded land and build a lot of fences and special buildings. The five year old said it would take an acre for an elephant. I agreed to at least that much, but a whole lot more to make him comfortable, and even more if he had friends. One wanted penguins. I said we'd need a lot of space and some ice and water for that, and a special zookeeper.

         All but the two year olds were getting into the conversation. We'd need a marketing manager, so one of them would have to study business in college. (One of them has a mother who is in marketing/PR for hospitals and health care.) We'd need to hire a lot of people for feeding the animals, cleaning the cages, cutting the grass, taking care of the plumbing, security 24 hours a day, and so forth. The six year wants a reptile house. With a grimace she asked about lizards. I told her we'd have to have a specialist for snakes and lizards, and someone to keep the glass clean where the tourists press against it. They all agreed to call it Noah's Park and have at least two of whatever animals we had.

         I pushed for llamas, alpacas, and mountain goats. We debated crocodiles and alligators, since whole farms are dedicated to those only in Florida. Maybe we'd stick to giraffes and koala bears, and leave out tigers and lions until it got big enough business wise to bring on trained handlers and add more land. I didn't point out to them that I probably won't be around when they're out of college, although one is nine already. My brother didn't point out that he'll be too old to help out physically. But we all jumped in on the dream and the skills we'd have to develop. It was kind of a fun exercise, and they enjoyed doing it.