the misfits

There is a section of the Buenos Aires Zoo that I refer to as the island of misfit animals. It seemed the zookeepers reached the end of their housing capacity but still lacked homes for several zoo creatures so they just threw all the non-abrasive animals in one large pen. It would not be considered a suitable living condition here in the United States, especially in the large city zoos. Out of memory I remember counting 15 different species living in the large space including a giraffe, two peacocks, a zebra, a badger of some sort, and a deer-like animal. I can't remember all the animals but every time I'd visit that zoo, I would stand at the gate and laugh within myself at all the "misfits."

Saturday night, Tim and I happened upon a zoo of sorts--a zoo of people. We were fortunate enough to go on a date while my mom was in town and rather than succumb to dinner and a movie, we decided to brave downtown Milwaukee. We listened to live music as we ate at a quaint seafood restaurant by the river and decided to continue our date by hitting a festival recommended to us by a friend. Well if I had to compare the crowd of people to my beloved Argentine zoo, we would definitely be the island of misfit people. We were the only ones that I noticed without a cigarette or drink in one or both of our hands and I didn't see another pregnant person during the entire time we walked the street. Feeling a bit out of place among the drunken cliques, Tim and I stuck to each other like glue and while the music and entertainment didn't really fit my relatively modest taste, it did make me smile and even laugh on occasion. My favorite two songs were performed by drag queens. I admit it was my first experience at a drag show and it was pretty funny...until it wasn't. The jokes progressively turned more crass and dirty forcing Tim and I to find a quick exit to visit the other booths and stages.

I had not really ever considered myself a misfit before--awkward maybe, but not a misfit. However, I could not escape the thought as my eyes scanned the crowd and noticed everyone staring at me. I am pretty sure they weren't expecting to see an eight-month modest pregnant person walking around with her dashing husband sporting a collared shirt. While we obviously didn't fit the local crowd, I was glad we braved the festival because it was quite an experience.

My feet were swollen by the end so Tim treated me to one of my favorite desserts: strawberry shortcake. We ate it with half-closing eyes (it was nearly 11:30pm) and came home to a dark, quiet house.

Our first date in over three months was a success. Thanks mom for the treat.