Just caught a note on Facebook from the Brookfield Zoo: apparently this Sunday, our governor will speak at a "family-friendly" event and unveil some sort of news about the future of the zoo.
While I'm hoping for the very best, I feel a bit cautionary. Zoos are feeling the pinch across the coutnry due to the economy, much like amusement parks are. Brookfield is not only a world-class zoo, but historically significant, boasting scads of WPA architecture. How many of you have a childhood photo taken while straddling one of those lion statues? It's a Chicago area kid's right-of-passage (that and collecting every Mold-a-rama you could get your hands on).
Don't worry, our Illinois guv, Pat Quinn, announced that he's pouring 15.6 million into Brookfield Zoo to repair and restore all that wonderful WPA architecture! Hooray for Quinn, who also re-opened countless historical sites and state parks that Rod Blah-goy-sonofabitch had closed during his reign.
ReplyDeleteAbout those mold-a-ramas: I think I still have a mountain lion and elephant tucked away somewhere! I remember the acrid, burning smell of the molten hot plastic as the machine (that looked kinda like a jukebox) pressed the molds together to create a remarkably detailed plastic animal. Funny what we remember, huh?
First of all, thanks for the update on the zoo. BZ is one of my "happiest places on earth", so this is heartening news.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what's the deal with the Mold-a-rama smell? I mean it's like olfactory crack!!! I meandered through the zoo about a month ago, taking in all the lovely decorated Christmas trees and the new carousel. Visited the bathroom near the Living Seas and WHOMP! there's the Mold-a-rama and BOOM! the smell hits me and I imediately NEED one of those figures. But I resisted the draw of the molten plastic penguin. Perhaps another day...