Mom used to take us kids to Manila Zoo and take our pictures with the elephant and the giraffe in the background. At 82, she wanted to go back and perhaps see the same giants or the results of its renovation after decades of neglect. Whatever it was, I thought it was my turn to take her.
Wednesday was our lucky day as seniors from the city are
given free entrance on this day. I, as a near-senior from the suburbs, was also
glad to get my very first discount. The perks and joy of aging! There were
ticket machines but also personnel writing receipts manually for some reason.
This resulted in a long line under the fiery sun.
The results of the city’s modernization efforts were
impressive although the place seemed to be lacking in variety and quantity,
according to Mom. “There’s not a lot! Where’s the elephant?” I directed her
attention to the poster of elephant Vishwa Ma’ali or “Mali” which was a gift to
the Philippine’s First Lady at that time from Sri Lanka. Mali lived for 43
years (1980-2023). I knew that this made Mom sad as death is the last thing she
wants to hear, having had so many friends and loved ones who have gone ahead of
her. She’s one of four siblings left out of ten. Her gigantic animal friends
are just as immortal.
She walked for an hour, identifying which species she’d
tried in her travels, before deciding to sit on a bench and rest her feet while
I took pictures of the big birds freely flying around the lake where water
spinach also grows. I thought that spinach could be fed to some of the animals
for sustainability. I remember how some of my former students raised funds to
help feed the Zoo animals. We could hardly bear the stench during our visits
then.
Our final stop was Diana’s Corner with beautiful artworks that incorporated endemic butterfly species. The garden, however, had only a couple of butterflies as it had been “too hot” according to the staff, and Mom was disappointed. Some butterflies lay dead on the floor of the exhibit room where the chrysalises were. They could’ve been taken out to the garden earlier to feed. Mom had her picture taken with the artworks and she was done. Her next desinations are Palawan and Tawi-Tawi, perhaps the last on her long bucket list. But I know she’ll keep going. We’re both wanderlust after all. What is your mother looking for? MLJ/17/07/2024/MomAtTheZoo
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