#59 - Zoo Time with Gators?

Staten Island Zoo in 1963
​
​One of my first memories of our move to Staten Island, was when we visited the zoo. As my family studied the alligators, I watched a daring, young boy straddle the railing like a cowboy.

I was impressed. I copied his stunt, then I promptly fell in. Luckily, I fell onto a platform, not into the pit. I slammed my face horribly on the railing. I remember feeling very embarrassed that an older woman I didn't know, was suddenly pulling me back to safety.

Sad Looking Face
​
This blurry photo was taken days after my fall. It hardly shows my swollen face or black eye.

 

I remember being very embarrassed to start first grade in a new city, with  my distorted face. But for years, I loved bragging about how I'd fallen into the alligator pit... sort of.

Gators?
​
​So today we went to the Houston Zoo and I was ready to see the gators and remember my 6-year-old encounter. 

But all I found was a tiny crocodile of some sort, in the reptile house.

​No Gators at the Zoo
​
​Well, we evidently have no alligators in the Houston Zoo right now! Maybe that's because they aren't interesting enough?

I've seen them in my own neighborhood, after all. So I posed with the sign that tells me alligators are coming next year, to a new Wetlands Exhibit.

Being 6
​
​I did misbehave for a brief moment, for old time's sake.

Then I had a chance to get up close and personal with a gator in a giant photo. I suffered no injuries on my zoo adventure!  
​