I sat on a chair atop an elevated slab of concrete at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo. Lucy and her grandmother (Tricia) sat on a bench facing me.
I did not think quickly enough to say that magic is Gandalf’s gig, not Gimli’s. I did recall my one magic trick guaranteed to impress everyone.
“Watch me pull a bald head from a hat,” I said.
Slowly and dramatically I removed my hat to reveal … a bald head.
When Lucy asked for another trick, wishful thinking took over.
“Watch me pull a head with hair from a hat.” Major failure as the revealed pate was once again bald.
“My head has hair,” laughed Lucy kindly as she came to stand beside me.
“Let’s see if this works,” I mused. I placed the hat on her head. “Abracadabra,” I intoned. I removed the hat and revealed a mass of hair.
“My turn,” declared Lucy. I went to sit with Tricia.
“Pocus-pocus,” Lucy chanted. I’m not sure what was supposed to happen. And in the end it does not matter.
The magic and wonder of the day lay not in any tricks we did or did not perform.
The magic and wonder lay in the imagination and love of a child.
The imagination … … that transformed any elevated space into a stage where one could dance with abandon or direct a magic show … … that realized the ramp to the observation deck at the monkey exhibit provided an entry point to a ship of some sort and we needed to help each other on board … … that envisioned a chair as throne … … and that made music with abandon on a suspended wooden xylophone.
The love … … demonstrated by utter comfort and absolute confidence in her grandmother’s arms … … shown in kindness to other visitors … ,,, and expressed in appreciation for the creatures with whom we share God’s creation.
As I give thanks for Lucy’s imagination and love, I hope I can recover some of that myself. For it is a joyful, joy-inspiring, joyous way to live.
5K walk. Germantown. Eric was doing the 5K Run for the Zoo for the Albuquerque BioPark. Going to the Zoo – Raffi Cheetah – Pinkfong Two Tigers – The Shanghai Restoration Project Tiger, Tiger, Orange and Black – Kids Now The Sloth – Flanders & Swann Flamingo – Kero Kero Bonita Baby Elephant Walk – Quincy Jones Le Carnaval des Animaux: Le Cygne – C Austin Miles, William Leonard George & Dino Kartsonakis Five Little Monkeys – Sharon, Lois, and Bram Five Little Ducks – Gracie’s Corner BLACKBIRD – Beyoncé, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy & Reyna Roberts Giraffe – Boots and Cats Sea Turtle – Hermanito Carnival of the Animals: Kangaroos – Isata Kanneh-Mason & Konya Kanneh-Mason Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons Fly Like an Eagle – The Neville Brothers Hakuna Matata – Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, JD McCrary & Donald Glover Dog Days Are Over – Florence + the Machine Faces the Blizzard – Jack Gladstone Mdube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) – Ladysmith Black Mambazo Warthog Rhapsody – Nathan Lane & Ernie Sabella At the Zoo – Simon & Garfunkel
Along the Graybeard Trail 