And also, I think that the keeper staff was also inbred, very inbred. Nobody, there was a few people that had worked at other zoos, but very few. And they all, and they really were, they weren’t well trained. They weren’t, they didn’t know anything. They knew very little about… Read More
And it was a exhibit of sorts for wallaroo. And they had a bunch of, a lot of them, had quite a few. They were breeding them very well, and they were, they just had a lot, and it was a beautiful exhibit. I mean, wild, very wild, unkempt-looking on,… Read More
What did you find, what were its strengths?… Read More
What were its weaknesses?… Read More
Well, the zoo had, as I say, I think it had a lot of strengths or potential. Let me say that, a lot of potential strengths. But It had, I think the major weakness honestly, was that it was so insular. Everything about the place. They had no, there was… Read More
I don’t know how much I learned, (laughing) but I watched him, I can tell you that. No, I knew what to do. Now whether I did it or not is another story, but no, you know, it was, he was very, very happy about it. So you come to… Read More
And of course we just had, my son was only eight months old, and that was not a smart move on our part to do, to be honest. And he was okay most of the time, but then right at the end, he got deathly ill. He got some stomach… Read More
I mean, that was a tough part. At the end of it was a real tough, tough four or five days. Now you arrive at the zoo. Read More
Did you ask his advice, or- I told him, I told him about it and he was very, very congratulatory. He was very happy for me. And I think he liked the idea that another Lincoln Park alumni became a director, because that’s, the zoo is famous for that. You… Read More
He give you any advice?… Read More
No, nope, I didn’t ask him either truthfully. Well, it’s just not that I didn’t need it, but it was, he was my mentor. Read More
I watched him, I watched him a lot, you know?… Read More
And I get a call from him. And I figured, well, when they’re calling me from San Francisco, they’re not calling me to say I didn’t get it. And Barbara was with me at the zoo conference, and I discussed it with her before I called him back. And I… Read More
So I called Jack Spring back and told him yes, I would do it. And that was my, (laughing) that was my deal. So that’s well, how I wound up in San Francisco. Read More
Now, did you talk to Dr. Fisher about the job after you had said yes?… Read More
Oh yeah, yeah. Then I asked them to see the zoo, and they didn’t even think they, (laughing) I’d been there of course, but I wanted to see it again and they didn’t have any way of me getting to the zoo. And they had to get some guy that… Read More
I mean, all I could say is, you know, what can I say?… Read More
That’s just, that’s the way San Francisco is, honestly. And I remember, and I didn’t hear from them for quite a while. And then I remember it was one of the, there was a zoo conference and, it was in, I forget where it was. May have been in Canada,… Read More
And I said, “Well, yeah.” And they said, “Well, you need to be here on Friday.” (laughing) And this was like Monday or Tuesday. And I said, “What?” And she said, “Well you know, we’re trying to get to zoo society to pay for it, but we don’t know if… Read More
And so here I’m in San Francisco and I said, “I gotta go back,” get back there that night. Luckily the two hours worked in my favor that way. Read More