The Adorable Point

On Sunday, we visited the local zoo.
We'd been before. They proudly brew Starbucks coffee, so we went ahead and picked up a family membership for the year.
This visit was our first chance to use that membership.
I have a set of goals on any visit to the zoo. Any zoo.
And by "set of goals" I mean "single goal". I want to see the meerkats.
This single, simple goal is broken down into stages.

1. Experiencing impatience at the distance from the entrance to the zoo and the meerkat hole.

2. Feeling agitation that there are a bunch of children between me and the meerkats.

3. Shouting "Holy crap! That's adorable! Look! They have little hands! That one thinks he's people!"

4. Stepping back from the meerkat area, sometimes with an escort from Zoo Security.

5. Plotting how I could jam a meerkat into my shirt or Shana's purse and sneak the little guy back home for prolonged hugging and a chance to burrow through some drywall.

This visit was no different. Sure, we were delayed a little looking at some extremely dirty elephants and again at some giant tortoises which did absolutely nothing but sit there in the sun and be freaking huge turtles. Not adorable!
But we made it to the meerkats and watched them frolic.
Good times.
We also saw some other (lesser) animals and got free refills on Diet Coke.
While I was looking over some kangaroo-themed shot glasses in a gift shop, I heard someone say,"Hey, you are Garrick aren't you?"
Before turning around, my initial reaction was the logical reaction anyone would have. I thought "Damn, I've been blacklisted from another freaking zoo."
But then I realized that I knew this person!
We went to college together more years ago than I'm comfortable admitting.
And now she works at the zoo and goes by "JC - Just like Jesus", as she said. "Awesome! I'm Jewish now, also just like Jesus!"
So, since my family and I are recent to Columbia and JC is also recent, we totally have to get together to compare notes on Mexican food. Cucumbers? Seriously?
Also, knowing someone who works at the zoo is possibly the first step to legitimate meerkat ownership.
Or at least meerkat ownership which doesn't involve lights and sirens.
I don't want to get tazed again.