I love zoos. When I was a kid, my parents would take us to the zoo for the whole day. St. Louis has a world class zoo. It is free and available to everyone in order to promote conservation and love of animals. As an adult, I still visit the St. Louis zoo as often as I can. I make a point to visit zoos, wherever I happen to be. Small zoos. Large zoos. As long as the animals are well cared for, I love them all.

I was thrilled to visit the Lisbon zoo. It is clear that the keepers love their animals. It was a little strange to see animals that we see on our farms and in our wild places. But I am a sucker for a good petting zoo. Sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and smiling children make it hard not to smile.

The turkey really strutted his stuff and made me an instant fan. The American bison reminded me of home, because I see them in the nearby county park on a fairly regular basis. I was not expecting them in Lisbon.

The meerkats can’t help but make you smile. They are so attentive and inquisitive. The only wild small mammals I like better than meerkats are prairie dogs….no prairie dogs here.

The highlight of the Lisbon zoo is easily the dolphin show. It is clear that the keepers love the dolphins and that the dolphins return the affection. Okay, maybe it’s just the fish they get as a reward.. . But they are eager to connect.

I have never experienced a dolphin show quite like it. There was the usual jumping, spy hopping, clicking and waving. The crowd oohed and awed like a fireworks display was happening. As the music swelled, the keepers swam in an underwater ballet with the porpoises. It was beautiful and magical. And it was weirdly distracting that the head keeper was a doppelgänger for Vladimir Zelenskyy. I am sure Zelenskyy would rather be swimming with dolphins than fending off the rabid Russian bear.

I never want to leave a zoo. It is a happy place. Reluctantly I head to the metro station and am surprised to find a museum full of antique instruments right inside the tunnel. One of things I like as much as a good zoo is music. I love to play the piano. I loved to play a variety of woodwinds and mallet instruments. As I have aged, I find I sing more than I play.

Never the less, I love instruments. They are beautiful and ancient. They have history and made me wonder what songs they have produced. There were instruments available for playing. I tried them all. Animals and music. Simple joys. The world would be a better place if we had more of that in our life.