Missing You
As the spirit in these walls, I've seen many changes over the years. The most significant one was 12/22/56 when I saw what looked like a harry wig on my floor. When the humans found it, they were a jumble of emotions: surprised, happy, scared. They took the wig away, but returned it some time later. That's when I discovered it wasn't a wig, but a miniature version of the inhabitants in my enclosure, the beings humans called "gorilla." They named her "Colo," after our city, Columbus, Ohio and gently hand-raised her from a cute, cuddly, wide-eyed creature to a confident, proud member of the gorilla family. Other humans flocked to see her and she soon became the star of the compound. She was only two when a new gorilla was introduced into the family. I heard he was from a place called Africa. He was named Bongo, and he and Colo went on to produce three tiny replicas, Emmy, Oscar, and Toni. While these babies didn't stay long, Colo did raise her twin grandsons, Macombo II and Mosuba. I've heard she had 16 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. She and Bongo were together 25 years before he was gone. She became more solitary in her old age, but there was no doubt who was the queen of the family and still popular with the crowds that came to see her. Sometimes her daughter, Toni, stopped by for a visit. Just last month, there was a birthday party for Colo. Six tomato and apple cakes (yuk, but she loves them), no less, one for each decade of her long and healthy life. She enjoyed her gifts and wearing the paper chain decorations. A large crowd of humans celebrated with her. A few days ago, there was another celebration for a human named Martin Luther King. Colo entertained the crowd by tossing around a baseball cap. It was a fun day. But, the next day, something was different. Colo wasn't here, after 60 years. I've been looking for her to return, but it hasn't happened yet. The crowds of humans are smaller now and they don't seem as happy as they used to. I guess we are all missing our old friend.
CREDITS: PHOTOS: web; KIT: Happy by Fiddle Dee Dee, One Little Bird, Valerie Wibbens, Kristin Aagard, Tangie Baxter, and Mommyish; FONT: Comic Sans
