It was a long drive to Phoenix, especially sitting in a back seat of our van. Ed and I communicated loudly, shouting over the engine noise.
My regular duties of feeding him food as he drove were relegated to preparations (cheese, apples, nuts and so on) passed carefully into the hand he stretched approximately in my rear direction. We became proficient at this new method.
Why the back seat?
My recovering hip does not enjoy a set position for long, which would be unavoidable in the front’s non-adjustable seat. So we moved all Merry operations to the back. Pleasantly, I discovered my backseat driver abilities to be unhampered. “Ed, did you see that guy on the bike?” In a big city like Phoenix, it definitely takes two to get safely around. In my estimation.
Brand New Magic Zoo Fans
The show had its rewards, consisting mostly of meeting veterinarians brand-new to The Magic Zoo. Since many of these vets specialized in farm animals, I made sure to have a goodly supply of bovine, goat and sheep jewelry on hand. That was a smart move.
That first time a new group of people discover my work is always a thrill. And there are usually some really interesting characters amongst a crowd of veterinarians. Like the lanky gentleman from the Netherlands who ended up talking to us about his life in the university town of Ann Arbor with his red-headed American wife (she is also a vet). After a long harangue about his mother who has an addiction for entering sweepstakes and buying lottery tickets, he chose a pair of green butterfly earrings for his wife. I insisted on the color – my personal fav for redheads.
A Fascinating Ride Home
The vet convention was only 2 days long, so Ed and I took a detour through the Petrified Forest on the way back to New Mexico. Neither of us had been there, and it was a great excuse to prowl easy-to-navigate trails, ahhing over giant cypress trees turned crystalline.
And I learned something amazing that I probabably should’ve learned in 4th grade science:
When present day Arizona was a swamp teeming with giant alligator-like creatures, flying reptiles and huge amphibians, it was located near what is today Costa Rica, on the land mass known as Pangea. It moved North over time, away from that equatorial clime, and the land mass raised in altitude.
Maybe it takes an adult mind to grapple with how astonishing that is. Is anyone else floored by that, or were you paying attention in grade school?
And I don’t just go crazy over extant animal species; I’ve always been completely fascinated by those that walked the earth, soared through the sky and swam the oceans before our time.
Who thinks I should start an “extinct animal” line of jewelry? (I’m only a little bit kidding) Given enough interest, I would love to do just that!
