"It's okay. Sooner or later everybody goes to the zoo." That might explain Friday, but it applies a little more to Saturday, as we made a two-car field trip to the Memphis Zoo. I don't think I've been to Memphis in five years or more. But the zoo's still at the end of Sam Cooper Blvd, so we found it okay. Miranda and Steve, her boyfriend, better known as Scuba to avoid any mixups with my own kid, Stephen, had been planning this trip for months. We just went along for the ride, but anyone who knows me knows I love to go to the zoo. Can't really explain it, but it's been a life-long fascination. So we spent six hours in the sun, shot a 24-exposure roll of film and took 86 digital shots, and in general acted like tourists. Now I'm back to the REAL zoo, but it's okay for a Monday.
I've never been good with expressing emotions. I always felt that emotions were a sign of weakness - part of being raised as my father's "son", I suppose. Lately I'm having a hard time bottling up those things that bubble up when people start flinging arrows and stones. Some I deserve. Others, less so. Innocent comments get taken out of context and used to further some cause. I make a genuine post about an overwhelming feeling I have, and someone turns it into an accusation, based on some sort of internet statistic that proves I've posted in response to something else. Frankly, I don't see the connection. I get angry more often than I used to, but I often feel like I've been kicked in the gut too. I'm not accustomed to that one. It usually brings tears. Intended kindnesses are perceived as attempts to control. And this post will be labeled as an attempt to send someone on a guilt trip - but hey - if the shoe fits, baby, wear it out.
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