You should know, first,
that I am a total democracy
nerd. Nothing is so thrilling
to me as a peaceful
transition of power. And
when the leaders of our
communities, states and
country preserve and uphold
the rule of law, well, I
must admit, I get a little
flutter in my tummy.
Yes — I heart democracy.
Because I am such a
nerd for democracy, Washington
D.C., is one of my
very favorite cities in the
world. Nevermind that its
Chinatown is all of one
block long and that its
IKEAs are actually in
Maryland and Virginia, our
nation’s capital is nonetheless
my very favorite place
on earth.
As a teenager, I visited
my favorite aunt there almost
every summer. We
visited the monuments and
Smithsonian museums. I
brought home postcards of
paintings in the Freer Gallery
collection and decorated
my bedroom.
Last week, I ventured to
the city with my daughters,
and came away once again
feeling all gushy inside for
America.
Although my husband
and I were both in the city,
we barely saw each other,
as he was tending to work
duties during the days and
many of the nights. That
left the girls and me to explore
on our own.
I wasn’t brave (or foolish)
enough to attempt a
trip to the National Mall or
the Smithsonian museums
on my own. Posey is 3 in a
big way, and an outing like
that would require at least
two — possibly six or more
— alert adults. Instead, we
went to the National Zoo.
It was a drizzly day,
which worked in our favor,
since it meant throngs of
other summer tourists opted
for indoor activities.
There were no crowds to obstruct
our views of the animals,
and no waiting to get
a glimpse into windows in
the indoor spaces.
The lions were characteristically
sleepy, and too
far away to be all that impressive
to the girls. I would
not have wanted them to be
any closer, mind you. Posey
made a clicking sound —
the same one she uses to
get our house cat’s attention
— when I raised the
camera to get a photo.
In the Think Tank, an
exhibit devoted to exploration
of animal thought,
tools, language and society,
we watched an orangutan
cover itself with a sheet,
twirl on a rope, then sneak
across the floor, still under
the sheet, to the other
orangutan in the enclosure,
then cover its roommate
with the sheet, too. Posey
and Bee laughed at the antics,
which reminded me of
the games they play. ``Dad’s
home, quick, get under the
blanket and hide!’’
In the Reptile Discovery
Center, we stopped in front
of each window and
searched the branches and
little ponds for the creatures
in the exhibit photos.
``There it is — behind the
twigs! He’s in the water
with just his eyes sticking
out! He’s on the branch and
he looks like the leaves.’’
Like everyone who visits
the Zoo, we were most excited
to see the Giant Pandas,
Mei Xiang and Tian
Tian. Our last trip to the
Zoo was when Bee was 18-
months old. Pandas have
always been her favorite
animals, and we were disappointed
that both pandas
were solidly asleep when
we visited. What do they
think they are — lions? I
prepared the girls for a
similar experience this
time, but instead we found
them to be very active, lumbering
around their indoor
spaces, eating bamboo,
scratching their backsides
on the rocks. We even got to
watch them enjoy the supersized
frozen fruitsicles
their keepers provide. That
was my favorite part of the
visit.
I tried hard to impress
the girls with the notion
that the Zoo belongs to the
American people. It belongs
to all of us. We get in free
because we’re the owners.
(We don’t, apparently, own
the parking lots, but that’s
another story.)
Maybe one day they’ll be
awed by that idea. But if
you ask them today about
their trip to the National
Zoo, they will tell you about
the hippo who played in the
water, washed her face in
the fountain and then, quite
explosively, relieved herself
in the pool to the sheer delight
of every child.
So maybe it’s not as majestic
as the Washington
Monument or as beautiful
as the impressionist paintings
in the National Gallery.
But it’s a D.C. memory
they’ll keep forever.
Elizabeth Trever Buchinger
is proud to be an
American, and happy not to
be a hippo. You can connect
with her at www.moremindfulfamily.
wordpress.com.
