**Orange

When I was growing up, orange was the only color I really didn’t like. None of my favorite things were orange, really. And in fact, one thing I really hated was an orange flavor– children’s chewable Tylenol… or aspirin… or whatever that shit was. That had the domino effect of my dislike of basically all orange-flavored candy– suckers, skittles, orange gummy bears, orange jelly beans. It took me a while to really gain any affinity for orange juice and oranges themselves. Now my favorite are clementines, but I still generally stay away from orange sweets.

Being a fair-haired blonde, orange didn’t look particularly good on me either, I thought.  But actually, in the last four or five years, it’s started to grow on me. I’ve enjoyed incorporating a whole new color into my wardrobe. My most priceless threads are probably my two orangy-leather coats, both second-hand acquisitions.  I also like orange a lot more because it reminds me of dear friends I love.

I’d like to talk about the orange in my day today. It was a very sunny, gorgeous, God day. After playing 12:45 Mass, I decided to go to the zoo. I had my mp3 player and a pair of decently comfortable shoes. I just wanted to walk, be outside, see cute animals.

Getting back to orange. The orange beaks and feet on penguins! Penguins are so damn cute. I have said it before, but I will say it again ad nauseum, the St. Louis Zoo has like the best penguin “exhibit” ever! I remember being terribly disappointed with the glassed-in display at Shedd Aquarium. Seriously, they’re just cute. All sticking their chests out, splaying their arms, flipping over in the water and getting my hair wet. For real. I got splashed. They actually had me giggling.

Grandpa orangutan was hiding under a sheet. After a while of moving just enough for the crowd to point and laugh that he was there, he sat up and kept the sheet wrapped over his head and around his shoulders as he lumbered forward on his massive knuckles. Then stopped, hid fully under the sheet, and finally lumbered forward again. His cheeks and jowls were enormous rolls belittled only by his belly. His orange-furred progeny scampered around him knowingly.

And finally the giraffes, whom I have never seen run. Wow. That was neat. I think the animals were just as excited as the humans by the fine weather. Mr. Giraffe decided to chase around the antelope and ostrich. A real site for a Sunday-afternoon stroll.

And that’s what I got for my late, orange entry.