I was seriously sleep deprived yesterday but somehow got myself out of the house and got something important done. The glass cover for my phone’s camera lens broke over a month ago at NERFA. I have not been able to use it much since then. I kept meaning to bring it in to be fixed and kept not doing it. Yesterday I found a phone repair place, it was not close, right by the Fordham MetroNorth station but it’s not that far. When I had my old phone fixed when I was in Crown Heights, I was told I had to bring it in the first thing in the morning if I wanted it back the same day. That is why I kept putting it off this time. I found the new place, Anthony’s Repair Mania on Google. I found one immediate advantage, it didn’t open until 10:30. I called at 10:45, explained what was wrong, and he told me that it would cost $35, take 20 minutes, and I could take it in any time that day. Whoa, that was so much better than I expected in terms of price, waiting time, and repair time. I headed down after brunch. I left it with him, came back in 20 minutes, and it was fixed. The only thing not as promised was the price. I got a discount as I found him on Google. This is why he earns a link to his website; Anthony was great. I even liked him as a person.
From there I went to my reward, The Bronx Zoo. The zoo is free on Wednesdays and is only 10 minutes by bus from Anthony’s. It’s maybe 20 minutes from my house. Why haven’t I been there before? I’m going to become a Wednesday regular. The Bronx is a cultural wasteland but it does have the Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden, and I live near both. The Garden is just a 10-minute walk away. I haven’t been there since I moved to the Bronx either. I’m an idiot.
A nice thing about living near the zoo and it being free is that I didn’t feel the need to do everything. I got there late, 1:30 and they close at 4:30, and put the animals away at 4:00. I concentrated on a few things. The winter is the time to see the cold weather animals; I knew to not miss Tiger Mountain or the Himalayan Highlands. The Siberian tigers and snow leopards are more active in winter. Things are busier on Wednesdays when admission is free but it’s still far less crowded than in the summer. That’s another advantage. I got great views and just enough of a crowd for people watching. It’s one of the places that it’s fun to listen to the conversations, so many are not in English. I get to play, guess the language.
My other specific goal was Madagascar! The exclamation point is part of the name. It’s mot cold in Madagascar but the exhibit is indoors. It’s relatively new and I’ve never seen it. I wanted to see lemurs. I got my wish. I stalked one species, the Coquerel’s Sifaka. When I came in they were moving about. I took some videos. I never caught them leaping from branch to branch. I decided to go back and lay in wait with the camera rolling. They of course decided that was a good time to rest. Next time I go I’ll try again. I acted as a Docent. The Sifaka were resting in a hard to see spot. I pointed them out to the people who came in and couldn’t see them. They were up high in one corner so you had to bend down to see them.
I didn’t go to what most people first think of when they think “zoo,” the African plain. I skipped the lions, giraffes, and zebras. The Congo Gorilla Forest costs extra. I might spring for the extras next time. It’s only $9 on Wednesday. Then I’d get the Gorillas and Jungleworld which has gibbons! What the zoo no longer has is elephants! Those were always a highlight. The decision was made to end the elephant program as they didn’t have the resources to maintain a healthy emotional environment for them. Elephants are highly social and each one needs a lot of space. There were protests over Happy, who lived apart from the other two pachyderms. The New York Zoological Society decided it was best to devout their resources to supporting elephants in the wild. It’s a decision that my brain agrees with. My heart agrees with. The little boy in me misses the elephants.
Today’s plan was to go to deepest darkest Brooklyn for the Owl Music Parlor holiday party. Sadly I find I don’t have the energy for it. It’s been one of those days where I’m sleepy. I’m not going to force myself. I will try and get out to go to the supermarket. I suspect I’ll fail. On Saturday I’m seeing Dar, many friends will be there. It will fill some of my emotional needs. I share some traits with elephants.
Wise Madness 