During a break in my schedule, I decided to go out and visit the animals at the Kansas City Zoo. I find the zoo to be a peaceful place where I can walk about at my leisure. In this episode, I chose to concentrate my energies on the African animals. That section of the zoo has a very natural feel and I enjoy being in it.

First in the big loop were the elephants, which are easy to observe for long periods. Later came the animals down by the lake. The best performance of the day was provided by a hungry hippo at feeding time which dined on a bucket of fruit. Next in line were the chimpanzees, creatures with an almost human demeanor. Around the bend was a rhinoceros and her recent offspring reclining under the shade of a nearby tree.

It was at this point that I had one of those wonderful synchronistic moments I am fond of telling people about. I was watching the animals when a man came up beside me and said that he thought I was somebody he knew. It turned out to be the son of my favorite old music instructor and mentor, Dr. Cook. I hadn't seen Dr. Cook's son since his father's funeral and that had been many years before. We chatted for a few minutes, exchanged information and headed back down our respective paths. What an unexpected event it had been!

Contemplating what had just happened, I came along to an area that required the crossing of a suspension bridge to enter. This was the wooded landscape where one finds the big cats and the gorillas. On this particular day, several gorillas were drawing a sizable crowd, showing off for the audience with a variety of striking gorilla poses. Such a demonstration made me wonder who was actually entertaining who.