Story Time

Yesterday's picture of the day [from the San Diego Zoo website]:

2/11/11 - Adhama the month-old hippo. I'm in love. How can you NOT love that?

People are usually surprised to learn that hippos are my favorite animal. I, for one, don't really understand their confusion. I mean, it's not like they're huge, funny looking, terrifying, uncontrollable creatures that account for more human deaths

than any other animal in Africa.

...oh, wait.....

Some people thinks it's funny and ironic on my part, like I picked them for their scary B.A.-ness.

Sorry to disappoint.

The story of my strange attachment to hippos dates back almost seventeen years. For as long as I can remember, the hippo exhibit at the zoo has been my favorite. I couldn't leave without first spending at least ten minutes gawking in front of their pool, regardless of whether or not they were even above the water. I never really thought much about where my obsession started, until the summer before my freshman year of high school. I had gone to Washington D.C. with a group from school, and I brought back a stuffed hippo from the Smithsonian. When I showed it to my mom, she started tearing up. While this is pretty normal for my mom, I still wasn't expecting a tearful reaction to a plush African mammal. Upon asking, she just sniffed and said, "Your grandfather would be so proud."

What? Was he some sort of safari explorer and no one ever told me?

And then the puzzle pieces fell into place.

When I was about three, my paternal grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He knew what was in store for him: hospital beds, in-home care, lots of scary machines, and a progressively weaker and more and more unfamiliar appearance. He decided that he didn't want me, his youngest granddaughter, to remember him that way, so while he was still able, he took me to the zoo for a day of grandpa spoiling. The last memory I have of him is him handing me apples to throw to the hippos, and my three-year-old delight at watching them disappear into their big, gaping mouths.

Kind of like this:

[More pictures!]: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/whatsnew/index.html