Two Wrongs do not make a Right!
                             

05/30/06  One place where our tax dollars are spent well and carefully!

For months, every weekend I have been trying to get to the Dallas Zoo.  Something always comes ups, but this Memorial Day I got there, and it was just wonderful!

There was a good crowd, but not overwhelming.  Lots of cute kids.  Lots of grandparents.  Lots of couples holding hands.  Regular people spending a day at our Zoo!

Growing up in Dallas in a single parent household with a working mom, the Dallas Zoo was one of the few affordable places we could afford.  It was very different to the Zoo as it is today.  Families (at least poor families like mine) brought picnic baskets and ate out on tables and benches just outside the park, near the little train.  If the little train still exists, I couldn't find it today.

The Zoo has expanded in many directions and the old entry area is now deep inside the exciting new entrance.  I'm still not used to that.

We walked across the bridge into the old part of the Zoo, but little looks the same.  Almost everything looks better, but there's still nostalgia for good old times.  There are a few birds in cages in the area near the creek where so many exotic birds drowned in their cages several years ago.  The old cylinder cages where those birds died are gone and replaced with beautiful botanical wonders. 

Every place possible is covered with blooming groundcover, scented bushes like Rosemary, lots of Yucca and heat resistant plants.  If there were no animals, it would still be worth the trip.  But, there are wonderful animals to be seen and experienced.

The council's proposed bond package includes $25 million for Zoo improvements.  If the money is spent as wisely and well as our tax dollars are currently used at the Dallas Zoo, we will finally have the destination Zoo that can be a major tourist draw for Dallas.

There is $3 million designated for improving the Bird/Reptile Building.  It's already so improved with cages combined to create larger exhibits for the birds and reptiles.  There are fewer birds, but better exhibits.  The children and their parents were so involved in finding the concealed critters.  When they would find a camouflaged snake or frog or lizard, they would make sure that everyone shared the moment.  It was so much fun being there and sharing their excitement.  It reminded me of the song from "GiGi", where the aging man-about-town asked children to let him be part of their imaginary games of play.

There was an obscure building with naked mole rats on one glass wall exhibit and a glass window where some outdoor little fuzzies shared and played in a wonderful exhibit, with all sorts of hidey holes and stuff.  There was a tunnel under that exhibit where kids could crawl and pop inside plastic bubbles that put them at eye level with the critters. 

The otter exhibit was great fun, too.  The glass viewing section lets kids see the otters going full blast at all that zaniness that is so typical of otters.

The elephant and giraffe area obviously still is primitive, but the bond package includes $10 million for new exhibits for them and lions and warthogs in the Wilds of Africa. 

We did the monorail tour of the Wilds of Africa.   It is continually being improved.  The exhibits are better landscaped.  There's a new Penguin exhibit under construction.  Not sure how that fits into the Wilds of Africa, but I can't wait to go back to see it.

For the life of me, I have never understood why the movers and shakers in this town have not spent money marketing our Zoo.  It's been a few years since I've made the trek to Ft. Worth to visit their Zoo, but I'm in no hurry to visit it again.  I do admire their city hall's support for their treasure.

If we would spend a little of the money our Convention & Visitors Bureau wastes trying to recruit conventions instead promoting the Zoo, we would see a lot of bang for our buck. 

As the town's No. 1 Aginner, I'm so excited to have an upcoming bond election with some components I can support. 

As a Dallas taxpayer, I am thrilled to know how well the people running and working at the Dallas Zoo are managing this municipal asset.  They are spending our money well to the benefit of the Zoo animals and their human visitors.

Hope your Memorial Day was wonderful as mine.

sb