Zookeeper

It was fun to be part of a"practice" telephone survey conducted by students, before they make actual calls to 8,000 households in the Chicago area.  The caller (my student intern at the Episcopal Chaplaincy) advised that I could make up any name, age, address, and occupation that suited me.  So, I said that I worked as a zookeeper. 

Care and feeding of animals?  Yes, I do that.  But I thought about "At the Zoo," one of my all-time favorite Simon and Garfunkel tunes. Some of the lyrics really do describe the church -- on some days, at least:

"Somethin' tells me it's all happening at the zoo.
The monkeys stand for honesty, giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb.
Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries, antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy, and hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas!  You gotta come and see at the zoo."

I am not, however, very fond of rum.  And I always thought that "and hamsters turn on frequently" was "ancestors turn up frequently."   And I do love the church.   But it's pretty accurate about those orangutans (and I've been one, myself).