(Picture taken at the Polar Bear Exhibit at The Detroit Zoo)My father has spent his entire career employed in the law field, but when he retires, he has two dreams:
1) Sell Mickey Mouse Ears ice cream bars in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World (between the Haunted House and Splash Mountain)
2) Work at The Detroit Zoo and clean up after the rhinos
These are lofty retirement goals, to be sure, but the second one in particular speaks to the memories and enjoyment The Detroit Zoo holds for many people across Michigan as well as visitors from other states. Unfortunately, the zoo is experiencing some significant financial hardship and requires the forced contribution (i.e. taxes) of Michigan residents in the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties to keep its gates open to the people and closed to the animals. The August 5th election includes a "zoo millage" that, according to the Oakland Press, will cost the average household in these three counties about $10/year for 10 years. That works out to a reduction to you of about 2 Big Mac Extra Value Meals from McDonald's per year (unless you are ordering the Big Mac Meal in Amsterdam where they force you to also get an ice cream sundae with the value meal. weird).
Without a doubt, the zoo is another one of our family jewels and its importance should not be under-estimated. The biggest concern regarding successfully passing this tax is that the zoo is loved and adored most by children, and this is sadly the group that can in no way influence the outcome of this proposal through voting.
Times are financially difficult for most everyone right now and I absolutely understand that, but losing the zoo because we couldn't individually contribute an additional $10/year would be almost too much to bear (ha. bear. bears live in zoos). Come August 5th, please please please make your way to your local polling location and vote in favor of the zoo millage. Your children and my dad will thank you.
2 comments:
I just dropped off my absentee ballot saying yes!! I thought I was gonna volunteer at a polling location, but work said no! Oh well! I was sure to get fliers to a few coffee houses, and I wish more, but working 6-7 days a week makes it tough!
I now realize that your dad is even cooler than I had originally thought. I mean all those years of uber-gratuity and kind-hearted warmth were enough for me. But, for him to do something so generous and selfless as selling mickey mouse ears of ice cream to the Disney public is astounding to me especially upon retirement. Good crap man good crap. Please tell your parents to visit my crappy blog site as I am essentially part of your family. I really want some more comments now that my blog is becoming much more introspective and philisophical leaning towards more interactive discussions and arguments. Good Riddance and Adio.
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