Grouchy Grandmas

Now that we are a bit removed from Christmas and there has been some calming of nerves, I thought I might mention our own experience with unfortunate comments by grandmothers. (See Kel's blog: http://monkeydragon42.blogspot.com/ for gory details.) A few years ago, we were at the San Diego Zoo and had the great good fortune of adopting a baby California Condor, whom we named Fluffy.

I just love Fluffy and think he's just the cutest thing. Well, one day, DG's parents stopped by on their way north for the summer, and Fluffy was playing in the living room. DG's mother walked in and said: "Where did you get that homely thing from!" You can imagine how difficult it was to comfort poor little Fluffy. He was sensitive anyway, being endangered and all, and now grandma calls him homely. Of course, being young, Fluffy wanted to make it OK with grandma and kept on asking to go down with us when we'd go to Florida. Oh what to do? He started as a defense mechanism to lord it over the other birds because he was endangered and, therefore, "special." Penguins, as you may know. have very healthy egos, and there were a lot of complaints. (Oh the squawking!) At the same time, he started thinking that grandma would like him better if he weren't a condor. I knew this went too far when he asked to take swimming lessons. Too much time around penguins.

Happily, I was able to find a tutor for Fluffy, and he's now becoming much better adjusted.

He so admires his tutor, in fact, that he now wants to grow up to be an educator himself. His dream is to open a College of General Buzzardry at the world renowned Bob's University of Advanced Penguinity and Comparative Avian Studies.

Bob Penguin, Dr. Peng., D. Litt.
Chancellor, Rector Magnificus, and Archdean
Bob's University of Advanced Penguinity and Comparative Avian Studies

--- and Woodchuck said it couldn't get weirder...