![\"Two](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/02\/Giraffes_in_Richmond_Metro_Zoo.jpg\")
<\/a>(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We\u2019re just back from the Metro Richmond Zoo<\/a>, a remarkably good small private operation \u2014 really quite<\/em> good \u2014 that, incidentally, was founded and is owned and operated by Jim Andelin, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I recommend it highly to anybody who\u2019s ever in the area of Richmond, Virginia. \u00a0It\u2019s not so small that it\u2019s unsatisfying, but it\u2019s also not so huge that it\u2019s overwhelming. \u00a0We saw kangaroos, cheetahs, lots of apes and monkeys, peacocks, dromedary and Bactrian camels, giraffes, a good variety of birds, wallabies, tapirs, rhinoceroses, lemurs, lions, zebras, beautiful white deer, ostriches, African eagles, goats, a bear, river otters, a snow leopard, Galapagos turtles, groundhogs, elk, kudus, meerkats, and a host of nteresting creatures. \u00a0The zoo is perfect for small children, just the right size for them. \u00a0The animals are close enough for them to really enjoy, and they can even directly feed several of the animals (including the giraffes, whose long bluish black or purple tongues make a considerable impression on little kids).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I continue to enjoy\u00a0Rolf Dobelli\u2019s\u00a0Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen<\/em>\u00a0(Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2014) \u2014 \u201cThe Art of Smart Action: 52 Wrong Paths that Would Be Better Left to Others\u201d \u2014 in small bites. \u00a0(It\u2019s difficult to do much more while helping to feed Bactrian camels, watching Moana and Maui try to return the heart of Te Fiti, or doing a dramatic reading of Skippyjon Jones<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n I do believe it\u2019s true. . . .<\/span><\/div>\n
\n And the elephants are kindly, but they\u2019re dumb.<\/span>
\n Orangutans are skeptical<\/span>
\n Of changes in their cages. . . .<\/span>
\n Zebras are reactionaries.<\/span>
\n Antelopes are missionaries.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n