Fall Break - Part 3 - The Tigers, Etc.

We left Fort Leonard Wood with the feeling that the country, and by extension the world, was in good hands and drove northeast.

We passed Skagg's Memorial Hospital and the Rotton Surgical Group. We were happy to be healthy.

When we stopped for breakfast we listened in to the conversation at the next table and heard, "The Louvre didn't do much for me." The woman speaking had just come from a "memorable, exciting" trip to Branson. Go figure!

The night before I had mentioned on Facebook where we were and a colleague at the seminary, where we are both students, messaged me that his dad lived in the area we were headed for and why didn't we stop in and see him. As if! I come from a long line of folks who would never impose like that and never, never 'drop in' on someone unannounced and uninvited. Like we would do that. But to be polite I asked for his dad's phone number....just in case. When we got near Rollo, MO I called the dad on my cell. He was waiting for the call. Yes, he sure could meet us at Steak n Shake and 20 minutes later he pulled in with a great big Missouri welcome. He had lived in the area all his life and knew the history and the current events. What a pleasant and unexpected pleasure it was to spend time with him. I could see his son in him but he absolutely could not be tempted  to give me any anecdotal stories about any trouble his son had ever been in. We now have a delightful friend in Missouri.

In this area of Missouri, according to the local paper, the local community was having a "Dodge Brawl" tournament, The Leach Theatre was offering "Deer Camp: The Musical" and Meramec Bison farm was selling "American's Original Red Meat." The local animal shelter was asking for a forever home for Jackson, a Rottweiler who had been turned back into the shelter for, "eating the family's dinner right off the table. But who among us is perfect?" The recipe for the day was Tortellini with Pumpkin Sage Sauce. 

A small billboard on the highway announced the exit for the National Tiger Sanctuary. Intrigued, we spent a couple of hours at this fascinating place. The sanctuary is an educational facility that "provides a safe, stress-free forever home for the animals."

A few of these animals had been owned by private families who thought it would be cool to raise a tiger or lion. From cute five-pounders, in a few years the cats had grown to 1100 pounds...quite impossible to house and feed for a private family. And no, I don't think people should be able to buy these animals as pets. Anyway, families would call the sanctuary or local zoo to come get the cat which at some point became capable of devouring the family. Some zoos called the sanctuary to see if they could provide a safe old-age type facility for animals no longer able to live in a zoo. From circuses and other entertainment venues owners would call to see if their animals could live out their lives at the sanctuary.

During the tours one is only four feet from a man-eating tiger, protected by two 12-foot fences. The guide, very knowledgeable about animals and college-educated in biology, walked between the fences carrying a bucket of turkey legs.

Once you've heard it you do not forget the sound of a 1700 pound tiger chomping down on a turkey leg, the bone snapping in two, sounding like the sound of a Kit Kat bar being snapped apart in an echo chamber. One big guy took the turkey leg from the guide and there was silence. The guide put her hands on her hips and said, "Hey, you'd didn't even chew that up. You just swallowed it whole." It gives one a new perspective on the power of these big cats.

To access more pictures and information about this very important sanctuary please go to:
www.nationaltigersanctuary.org.

We are not close to home yet and there were several more exciting local stops on our meandering trip before returning home to Indiana but this is enough for now.

And that's what I think about it.