then I’m really, really old. Really.

All parts of me hurt. Some more than others. Some more unrelenting than others. Some come and go. Some have come and stayed. And stayed.

I thinking things are not going to improve.

Meanwhile, or, it’s about time, I enrolled in Baylor’s Lifelong Learning program, designed for retired people. A friend recommended it. I signed up for “WWII, the Pacific Theater,” where I felt like a youngster, as several, actual, real-life WWII vets spoke to us.

And I signed up for a “Behind the Scenes at the Zoo” course. We’ve gone twice so far, and have two more sessions.

They’ve had these recyclable grocery bags made, and encouraged all of us to take one, or more, for public awareness. I took two.

The first week, we went to the zoo’s classroom building, where a couple of bird caregivers described two kinds of birds (which they had perched on their forearms), and how they came to the zoo and how they are cared for. They are rescue birds and had injuries that could not be completely corrected and they therefore could not safely be released into the wild again. And we learned about the other kinds of animals that come to the zoo for similar reasons, and now have a safe place to live, and give local folks an opportunity to see animals living in habitats that resemble as closely as possible where those kinds of animals live in the wild.

We also got lots of information about expansion and a new penguin habitat, African penguins, who are warm-weather penguins. A man asked, a little skeptical, if they were just going to go and get some of these fair-weather penguins and cart them to Waco. Well, no, not at all. This habitat is going to be a rescue and rehab facility. The Cameron Park Zoo is part of a world-wide zoological group that seeks to find animal groups that are endangered and/or at-risk, and bring unhealthy animals to a space where they can become hale and hearty and be returned to their home environments.

We got some information about the number of visitors who come to the zoo, annually, and how those numbers are rising. (There are folks in town who seem to resent the “Magnolia” effect–the idea that the rise in tourism numbers is the result of the enormous popularity of the Magnolia franchise. “We’ve always had a great __________________ (zoo, Dr. Pepper Museum, Mayborn  Museum, city park, etc.),” they say. And that is true, but if there weren’t many visitors to Waco, then who knew about those things. Now, people flock to Waco to visit the Magnolia store and then they say, “As long as we’re here, what else is there to do?” And we are thrilled to show them. The bar graph of zoo visitors for the past few years shows a steady rise, but, after the Magnolia properties were built, there’s a larger rise.

Last week, the zoo veterinarian talked to us a bit about his job and then we got to go see some behind-the-scenes stuff. Our zoo has several large primates, and, in an effort to create a healthy environment for them, the zoo staff has created some ways to determine the health of these animals, like taking blood pressure readings and doing blood draws. They’ve then shared their knowledge with other zoos.

We walked around to the back of the orangutan habitat. This long metal drawer-like apparatus is for taking blood draws. The orangutans are trained to put their arm into the drawer, on a cue. Then the primate professional wriggled her fingers while saying “Fingers!” When the primate stretched fingers through the openings, they were held while the blood was taken from the arm. Then, the fingers were released, the orangutan pulled her arm out, and, as is satisfying, she got a treat. Blood pressure is taken the same way. This is a temporary space for animals who are getting their medical evaluations. They live in an appropriate space. They take turns being out in the open or in spaces with viewing windows, and being in their own private space.

The Cameron Park Zoo is part of a large network of zoos that seek to learn how to keep animals healthy, because animal populations around the world are declining. If they can work with animal populations in other zoos and in the wild, then we can maintain the biodiversity that our planet needs.

Then we walked around to the back of the elephant’s habitat. We heard lots of interesting information about African and Asian elephants and how African elephant ears are larger, because Africa is hotter and they need their larger ears for flapping to help cool themselves off. This is an African elephant. You cannot tell here, but she’s holding a harmonica in her trunk. The animal keepers explained that they do not teach the animals to do tricks (like playing a harmonica) to entertain zoo guests. In the wild, elephants would take in lots of water from a lake or river, and then swoosh it out, cleaning off their bodies and clearing out their trunks. In a zoo, they have to be taught how to inhale deeply. So the elephant keepers used the harmonica as a teaching tool, to inhale deeply and then to expel quickly. It worked, and now the elephants can inhale water and then whoosh it out, cleaning out their trunks. But, the animal keepers learned that the elephants apparently do like to make sounds with the harmonicas and will do it for quite some time. Even if no one else is around to hear it.

Learning for a moment. Learning for a lifetime. Learning how to make a difference.

Meanwhile, I took this photo on September 25. The temperature was 95 degrees. Not exactly pumpkin weather. And now we’re in that “cool today/roasting again tomorrow,” “possibly not horrid/but hot the day after that,” and then, “it’s anybody’s guess” weather. Whatever I put on in the morning is inappropriate by afternoon.