and that the WI Badgers keep winning!
Old enough to remember Dave Garroway, the original host of NBC’s Today Show. He’d sign off each show with the word “Peace” while making the two-finger symbol. In the 1950s, before Abby Hoffman! Appearing with Mr. Garroway on our b&w Philco was a sidekick named J. Fred Muggs, who was born in the African country of Cameroon. Mr. Muggs spoke no English; he was a chimpanzee. Asked mother if I could get one of those. Still working through emotional issues caused by her refusal.
We’re entranced by chimps — especially orangutans. Also penguins, hummingbirds, owls, koalas, walruses, elephants, reef anemones, octopi, and turtles. Now the Head Groundskeeper is asking the Lovely Lisa if he can have an African sulcata tortoise. One used to roam Pet World here in Madison WI (now sadly closed). Imagine the surprise when we first encountered Roxy the tortoise clunking down an aisle heading for the bird room. It knew birds were sloppy eaters and there was a meal to be scavenged from the floor. From there, Roxy headed to the dog baths, where the girls would give it a nice warm squirt of water. (We were tempted to follow it.)
A girl and her turtle
Each episode ends with “Love you T! We hope you have the best day.”
Until Lisa grants our wish, we make do with Tiptoe and his human friend, Caitlin. The pair have 847,000 followers on Facebook (follow their adventures here) observing Caitlin feeding the hard-shelled creature this fruit or that flower and lots of hay, taking the reptile on a walk around the block, or refurbishing his heated tortoise house.
The species is the third-largest tortoise, reaching 180 pounds and a lifespan of 55 years. They’re native to the African Sahel, the semi-arid zone just south of the Sahara desert. They can’t tolerate temps below 60° F.
The Tiptoe and Caitlin show is not without drama. They were burned out of their home in Los Angeles, took temporary refuge with grandparents (big turtle in the living room!), and now find themselves in Florida. But all the while, no whining, just optimism.
“The block is very excited to have Tiptoe here,” Caitlin reports. “He is loving life over here.”
They’re saying, UW Badger b-ballers have a chance!
The New York Times has the most amazing interactive graphic. (Guess you gotta subscribe.) Hover over your NCAA basketball tournament team and its algorithm predicts its chances of winning all the way to the title game. As of this morning, the gizmo gives Duke the best chance to win it all at 24%. Florida at 15%, Houston at 13%, and Auburn 11%. Those are the Number 1 seeds. Wisconsin gets only a 1% chance of winning it all. (Most of the teams are given zero chance.) That’s better than your bracket surviving unscathed. (99.99% BUSTED!) We’ll update you as the tournament progresses.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: With Teslas burning, Judge Crawford releasing sex fiends, Houthis attacking shipping, the indentured servants here at the Stately Manor need the kind of positivity that only an African sulcata turtle can provide. Love you, Platinum+ subscribers. Hope you have the best day!
3 responses to “We hope you have the best day!”
Today’s installment of “Whatever happened to…”
https://centerforgreatapes.org/chimpanzee/bubbles/
“As a physically imposing 185-pound, 4½-foot adult male, Bubbles is now treated as the dominant male in his group of chimpanzees that includes his best friends, Ripley and Oopsie, as well as Boma and Jessie.”
What little thing makes me happy? Episode 16 (“The Hitchhiker”, 1960), a favorite Twilight Zone. Although “Terror at 20,000 Feet” starring William Shatner, is another Twilight gem.
Story yesterday in the local rag tells about a fellow trying to smuggle a turtle in his pants past TSA–may you can try that with the lovely Lisa?? Story did not say if was a snapper or anything about the low hanging fruit…..