What do you want to do today? That’s the question my wife asked me, the morning of my 46th birthday. Is this a trick question? Haha… I did have visions of taking some birthday cash and heading to the casino for a few hours to play hold’em; definitely have to do that at some point. But nah… not on my birthday. Head to the casino by myself?!? Why would I want to be by myself on my birthday? Like I said, it’s a celebration… and not sure about you, but I’m not too much into self-celebrations, well, except, you know…
I want to spend the day with my wife and son. Thankfully, the weather cooperated; it was an absolutely perfect summer day in the Chi, or as some people refer to it as, the hellhole. Have those folks ever even been to Chicago, or are they just familiar with the violent videos, showing crazy stuff that happens in every big city across the country? Anyways… to enjoy the outdoors, what better way to do so, then heading to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Sure, we could have taken a bike ride on the 606, but why the hell would I want to physically exert myself on this day? A nice relaxing walk around the zoo sounds more like it.
All of our visits to the zoo, and there have been many, usually come with a “highlight”. Whether it’s the polar bear swimming in the pool, coming right up to the window to see us, or the black bear pacing back and forth in front of us, or the wolves fighting for some food, or the lions giving us a roar, there’s always something. This day was no different. One of our highlights came from an unexpected source: the Red River Hog. Normally, they’re not even out, but today they were. One of the guys was laying down; the other guy was sniffing his butt, but what happened next was the highlight. He started peeing right next to his sleeping buddy… like right next to him… and a lot! It was awesome… haha. The peeing theme continued with the chimps in the Ape house. They were pretty active; two younger guys were wrestling up top. I swear one of them looked down at us and smiled. That same guy then climbed right above us… and started peeing! It was splashing and running down the window right in front of our face. Now I know what it must have been like to spend an evening with R Kelly… OK, enough peeing…
Lunch was awesome. At first, my wife mentioned a Mediterranean restaurant; not my first choice, but I’m sure it would have been good. Thought of my favorite pizza place Pequod’s, but they don’t have outdoor seating, so… she mentioned a steak place… I thought of Gibson’s, and their outdoor seating. Bingo! One of the best lunches in a long time, topped off by a piece of their famous Carrot Cake, which would have fed a dozen of us… beautiful.
This is 46… the 46 defense comes to mind. I think about the animals at the zoo, and see how nice they have it there; I’m sure they’re treated very well also. Yet, they are confined; wouldn’t it be better for them to run free, in their natural habitat? Random thought from the married guy on his birthday. Are we “confined” in marriage? Are we meant to “run free” through this earth? Well, there are positives and negatives in every scenario, but at the end of the day, the positives for me far outweigh the negatives, so I’m ahead of the game, no? Yes… yes I am.
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