Well, the email with all the available zoo tours needin' to be covered came through the other day. As I am practically frazzled to the bone -- in desperate need of a vacation, methinks -- I passed on signin' up for any more for this month. When the mass call for volunteers goes out, it is fairly easy to sit back in the shadows and watch others step forward to fill the spaces.
One of the spaces was for today, however, and I suppose no one stepped up to take it in response to the email. How do I know this? I know this because I received a phone call. This has become the way I most often sign up for these tours, these days. I happen to be the only docent that resides close to the local wildlife park. Many of our volunteers drive in from Fort Worth or Dallas. As such, it actually is less trouble for me to go donate 3 or 4 hours of my time than to ask someone to drive an hour and a half to do so and then drive an hour and a half back home. I have advised them to always call me first if they have an urgent need. They did and I am gonna be goin' out to give a tour behind the scenes for some special group this mornin'.
Ya wouldn't think it would be all that hard sittin' in the front of an open topped van just tellin' people 'bout this and that, would ya? It really ain't, 'cept it will be hot, my throat gets parched despite the fact that I will be suckin' mint drops and Dr. Pepper intermittently durin' the tour. The worst part is the continual cranin' my neck around so as to talk to those sittin' behind my seat. My neck stiffens up quite nicely.
If ya get really lucky, there will be a new docent in trainin' that is needin' to learn the roads. That will allow you to sit in the back with the crowd just behind the drivers seat. From this position, you can easily direct the driver and easily provide the immense amount of knowledge you impart to your guests without excruciatin' neck pain. I am hopeful, but not overly so, that I will have a driver for this tour. Driver or no driver, one group of fine people is gonna find themselves havin' a load of fun at my expense today -- complete with my permission, however.
Posted by Tiger at June 12, 2004 08:26 AM