Arc

Errol has a good day pretty much every day, which is good, except that every day is pretty much the same. Here are your socks, Errol: smile. Here is your wheelchair, Errol: smile. Dick Cheney is coming for dinner, Errol: smile. If variety is the spice of life, Errol’s happy life has been pretty bland.

We went to the zoo. It was a sunny and warm late December day. The chimpanzees howled at each other as they bounced off the trees. The patas monkeys pranced around their faux patas monkey habitat like little princes. Even the elephants seemed happy (though how would you really know?) The polar bear, on the other hand, was pissed. It was finally getting cold and then, bam, 70 degrees. Then again, it might not have been the weather. Mr. Bear is usually pretty sour (wouldn’t you be, after all?) Poor fellow, stuck behind glass, day after day, no paid vacation, no benefits, and all those round Americans, waltzing right past him, like hors d'oeuvres in tennis shoes, that he will never ever eat.

So far, big events like Christmas haven’t really registered with Errol. As we left for the zoo, I felt a little guilty about taking Errol on a trip far from home when he would probably be just as happy sitting in the car in the driveway. But still, I haven’t given up on special moments, and so the trips, birthday parties, and Hanukah presents (he’s not even Jewish) continue, with the hope that one day they will sink in and slowly but surely give his life a bit of an arc.

Today was a departure from past trips to the zoo, beach, museum, fair, gun show, gem and rock convention, tribal meeting, debutante ball, Racquetball Hall of fame. As soon as we got to the zoo, we headed straight for the seal-viewing tank (we watch the seals, not the other way around. I think) I held little Errol inches from the thick glass, and every time a seal would glide past us, Errol would wiggle in my arms as he let out his little belly laugh, “heh, heh, heh!!!” Something about these graceful beasts gliding through the water, tickled little Errol, and tourqued the arc of his day.

Errol smiled, Errol laughed, Errol watched his hand, Errol did all the normal things he does, but when you added them up, this was not just a normal day: it was bigger, grander, more special than usual. Maybe it was the seals, maybe it was the surprise weather, maybe Errol’s memory is starting to take hold, or maybe Errol’s just getting older. Whatever it was, today was a special day for all of us (except for that hot and hungry polar bear).