You may be able to take the animals out of the zoo, but you can't take the zoo out of the Zookeeper. Or even away from the zookeeper. Because, ha ha, it's being attempted right now, and so far it's just not working.
It seems that Juliet had it wrong. Of course, Juliet was only 13 and her stunning.. what? Three day love affair with Romeo ended up with six people dying? Which just goes to show what happens when the kids take over the world thinking they can handle it the way the grown ups do... At any rate, it turns out that which we call a rose by any other name doesn't always smell as sweet. This is the first rule of marketing, and why companies work so hard to protect the brands they have created, and the trademarks that go with them. Why do you think Apple Computers wanted Steve Jobs back so much in the 90's? Sometimes, the brand hinges on the face, and the vision, of it's founder...and when the brand is built around a person of integrity, who speaks from his heart, who puts the "product" and the customer first, who forgoes ego and recompense in that name of always doing what is right...well, all I have to say is that if you are an unknown and you want to impeach the reputation of a known, you had better have your ducks lined up and your shite together. Because despite what modern media wants us to believe, most of the grown ups today know that kids of all ages lie to keep themselves out of trouble, and you don't go accusing people of things until you know for sure (as in verified by either independent research, or your own investigation) what they are saying is true. Unless you are a gambler with a ginormous ego who wants to try to crush people just to show who has the bigger balls. In which case (since I have pretty big balls myself) I would caution you to remember. The bigger the balls, the easier it is to accidentally crush them in the door your are trying to slam shut...
Speaking of Shakespeare (and if I had all day boy could I, since what's been going on lately is definitely worthy of one of the Bard's plays. I just can't decide which category. Tragedy? Comedy? I'm thinking a bit of both...) I think he'd have a ball with this question, and populating characters to act it out. Would it be Verona, Venice, England, or Ancient Greece, do you think, that we could find a situation wherein a group of...shall we call them Merchants?...spends almost two years negotiating the procurement of a specific individual's assets, only to wake up one morning, and at the urging of their ringleader decide...assets? We don't need to buy no stinking assets. We already own them. Hey! Let's rewrite history, so that it fits the reality we need in order to do what we think we need to do! I'm sure my old buddy Will wrote a play like this, but it's late and I can't remember them all. If you do, feel free to tell me in the comments.
Meanwhile, my word of the day is this...cognitive dissonance.
My good friend (though often unverified, which makes me search more, because, hehe, I'm not a kid who believes what I am spoon fed) Wikipedia describes cognitive dissonance as this:
The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements.[1] It is the distressing mental state that people feel when they "find themselves doing things that don't fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold."[4] A key assumption is that people want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium.[5] Likewise, another assumption is that a person will avoid situations or information sources that give rise to feelings of uneasiness, or dissonance.[1]
Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality. According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed "dissonance reduction", which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.[6] This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior.
You can find the rest of the article here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance and then feel free, as I did, to explore alternate ideas at your leisure. It all sums up to the same.
"This does not belong to me. In order to do what I want, emotionally (emotions feed the ego), this needs to belong to me. Therefore, I reject that this does not belong to me and proclaim that I own it so that I can dispose of it as I see fit, regardless of what my other rational senses tell me is reality."
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Meanwhile, back at the little life lessons. Remember the old adage about how you can take the boy (or girl) out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy? Or even how though we deny it all day long, what we do defines us? In fact, we all know that where we put the majority of our time, and thought, and energy speaks volumes about what we believe in and care about. If you have a passion, and a message, then don't let anything get in the way. Because to be so motivated is to be able to change the world, or at least your little corner of it.
"Speak your truth quietly and clearly..." Well, the animals have a truth to speak, and my Zookeeper hears it, and acts as a translator. A week after "they" took the animals out of the zoo, a couple out on a walk showed up in our driveway with a baby squirrel they had rescued from a cat. A nestling, or whatever you call an un-weened squirrel, who may or may not have been able to survive the cat (only if momma squirrel found him, that is.) Seems that everyone in our little corner of the Universe knows where to bring these things, since other strangers directed them to our door.
There were a few animal totes left from the destruction, and rather than go into a lengthy explanation, the Zookeeper just did what he always does. Got on the phone, and found a place for the orphaned squirrel to go...and then drove it there. Do what you were born to do. Do it with a clear conscience, and do it to the very best of your ability. Set your ego aside, give thanks every day that you are allowed to be yourself...and just...be. With no harm to others, and you will be rewarded. Most of all, keep the faith, and fight for what you believe in.
We have animals again in our "traveling zoo", and pray daily for the return of others..all of them. But...you can take the animals out of the zoo, but you cannot, ever, take the zoo out of the Zookeeper.
~tzkw
Go, ZooKeeper, GO!
ReplyDeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteAs a big fan of Shakespeare, I thoroughly enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd like to point out that most of us fans and supporters of tzkw and Wildlife Encounters have yet to hear the full story of what happened to the zoo. I know this must be a trying time for everyone involved, but I think you'll find many more supporters come out of the woodwork once the fog surrounding this whole business has been cleared.
For me personally, I'm naturally inclined to give my support to Wildlife Encounters, because it is a previously established, reputable company run by a man that I would readily trust with the care and keeping of any animal. But this whole issue has been so hush-hush and cryptic that I hesitate to get involved at all. With so many rumours, accusations, and insinuations flying around, I feel much more comfortable waiting for more detailed information before choosing to throw my support any particular side.
My point is: while I'm sure you're all feeling very overwhelmed at this time, please do not forget that you have friends out here who are craving answers. I'm certain that I am not the only one hesitating on the sidelines right now. I really think that the sooner the full story is brought out into the open, the sooner you'll find a whole lot more public and monetary support coming your way.
Until then, best of luck with everything.
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteThank you for the compliment! I'm a big Shakespeare fan myself.
If it seems as though the full story hasn't been made clear, well, it hasn't exactly been made clear to us either. There is litigation pending so it can be tough to know what to say and what not to say until the courts have a chance to resolve the matter.
I also want to thank you for your comment "by a man that I would readily trust with the care and keeping of any animal." You see, what happened to the zoo, and the heart of the issue, is that for over two years what held up IRS approval for 501(c)3 status was the disposition of the animals and assets privately owned by us. A business valuation was done, and at no time was it ever not understood that all the animals that were here prior to the formation of the non profit, as well as thousands of dollars worth of equipment, the trademark, and the customer data base were the sole property of...us. The day the board voted to terminate Derek (it does not matter why, nor that it was a complete surprise, nor that he was never even given a chance to speak at the meeting) they went to court, claimed that all the animals and assets were theirs, and further claimed that regardless of ownership they believed that if any of the animals were left here the zookeeper would kill them. This is all a matter of public record.
So as we wait for all of this to wind it's way through the courts, we are doing the best thing we know how to do...keep going.
In the meantime, thank you for your questions and your kind words.
tzkw