A Day At The Zoo PG-13 Champagne challenge #138
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:49 am
I do not own any recognizable characters no copyright infringement is intended
Mick woke up right after sunrise. Since turning human he wanted the days to last as long as possible.
He made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. It had to be just like his Mom used to make when he was a boy. Almost every Sunday they went to the Griffith Park Zoo until he was about nine years old. Dad lost his job for a few months and by the time he got a new job Mick had turned ten and the zoo just didn’t hold the same magic it once had.
He went once with Lilah after he came home from the war. He wanted to recapture a piece of his innocence and he briefly fantasized about bringing his own kids there one day. That was two weeks before Ray returned.
The last time he went there was in 1954. After a big fight with Coraline he wanted to go somewhere that was familiar. He couldn’t go home to his parents or the old neighborhood. He couldn’t go to any of the dives where he played guitar, everyone thought he was dead. The only place he could think of was the zoo and it was a disaster.
He noticed the birds first. They flew out of the trees when he walked down the paths. He stopped to see the monkeys and the chimps started howling and fled to the corner of their cage. The elephants pointed their huge trunks in his direction and they backed away. It was the lion’s cage that destroyed him. That beautiful King of the Jungle roared once and then whimpered, recognizing the dominant predator. When he heard a little boy around five years old say to his mother.
“What could scare the lion? There must be a monster around here.”
“There is no such thing as monsters Billy.”
Mick knew at that moment monsters were real and he ran out of the zoo and never looked back.
This morning he drove to the new location. The old zoo closed in 1966 and this one was two miles away. He felt a twinge when he saw the sign to Griffith Park. Josh Lindsay’s life had ended here just a few days ago. Did he really do everything he could to save him?
He was shocked at the price of admission but he couldn’t wait to get in and be near the animals. The World of Birds show was just about to begin. This time the flapping wings were all on cue, there was no blind terror, no fleeing for their lives.
His next stop was to the Children’s zoo and fed the sheep and goats. He even got a brush and laughed when he found out he was able to groom them. The sheep were warm and calm, not the slightest bit afraid.
He visited every animal and then he got on to the Safari shuttle. It was a wonderful way to see the big animals they weren’t in tiny pens or cages like when he was a kid. The elephants and lions didn’t even glance at his shuttle. He was like a million other humans.
He stayed at the zoo until closing time. Maybe someday he’d come back here with Beth. She needed to grieve over Josh but maybe in a few months, it could happen.
Mick woke up right after sunrise. Since turning human he wanted the days to last as long as possible.
He made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. It had to be just like his Mom used to make when he was a boy. Almost every Sunday they went to the Griffith Park Zoo until he was about nine years old. Dad lost his job for a few months and by the time he got a new job Mick had turned ten and the zoo just didn’t hold the same magic it once had.
He went once with Lilah after he came home from the war. He wanted to recapture a piece of his innocence and he briefly fantasized about bringing his own kids there one day. That was two weeks before Ray returned.
The last time he went there was in 1954. After a big fight with Coraline he wanted to go somewhere that was familiar. He couldn’t go home to his parents or the old neighborhood. He couldn’t go to any of the dives where he played guitar, everyone thought he was dead. The only place he could think of was the zoo and it was a disaster.
He noticed the birds first. They flew out of the trees when he walked down the paths. He stopped to see the monkeys and the chimps started howling and fled to the corner of their cage. The elephants pointed their huge trunks in his direction and they backed away. It was the lion’s cage that destroyed him. That beautiful King of the Jungle roared once and then whimpered, recognizing the dominant predator. When he heard a little boy around five years old say to his mother.
“What could scare the lion? There must be a monster around here.”
“There is no such thing as monsters Billy.”
Mick knew at that moment monsters were real and he ran out of the zoo and never looked back.
This morning he drove to the new location. The old zoo closed in 1966 and this one was two miles away. He felt a twinge when he saw the sign to Griffith Park. Josh Lindsay’s life had ended here just a few days ago. Did he really do everything he could to save him?
He was shocked at the price of admission but he couldn’t wait to get in and be near the animals. The World of Birds show was just about to begin. This time the flapping wings were all on cue, there was no blind terror, no fleeing for their lives.
His next stop was to the Children’s zoo and fed the sheep and goats. He even got a brush and laughed when he found out he was able to groom them. The sheep were warm and calm, not the slightest bit afraid.
He visited every animal and then he got on to the Safari shuttle. It was a wonderful way to see the big animals they weren’t in tiny pens or cages like when he was a kid. The elephants and lions didn’t even glance at his shuttle. He was like a million other humans.
He stayed at the zoo until closing time. Maybe someday he’d come back here with Beth. She needed to grieve over Josh but maybe in a few months, it could happen.
I'm so glad he enjoyed his day. 
This is a great response to the challenge. You've brought back so many memories of Mick's earlier life, and they make so much sense in context with the zoo. And even his questions and regrets about Josh are touched on. 
