Survival of the quietest

J. had good things to say about Taronga Zoo in Sydney, but there was one downside: hordes of rowdy children. They grated not only on the zoogoers, but also, apparently, on the animals. Apparently, they were stressing out a tiger, which was observed pacing in irritation in its cage.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Rowdy children would not survive in the wild. They'd be the first to be eaten by tigers and other wild animals, if only just to make them shut the f* up.

Something to think about.

***

E.&V., our hosts in Sydney, are retired but work part-time delivering fliers and free samples. Unbeknownst to me, my mother had apparently volunteered me to accompany them on their flier delivery.

Now, it's not that I wouldn't have perhaps volunteered or agreed if asked by E. or had I thought it would have helped (as it turned out, as E.&V. were leaving for vacation several days after our visit, they decided to take extra time off, and E. told my mother she was nuts for even suggesting it, so it didn't come to my making a decision on the matter either way).

It's that I have to point out how generous my mother is with my vacation time and my not three full days in Sydney. And I don't think it was a whim: even had she thought it through, she still would have taken it upon herself to volunteer me for flier delivery.

I'm just glad my mom doesn't have any friends who, say, test ideas for Fear Factor.