Florene Watson preparing a P-51D-5NA for a ferry flight from the factory at Inglewood, California. Wikipedia.com.

A lot of things happened between Memorial Day and Sunday 6/5/16 that we would like to address.

Unless you were living under a rock, one of the big news stories had to do with the endangered gorilla that had to be shot when a youngster crawled into it’s habitat. Yes, people were quick to criticize the mother of the child, especially after some said  that the said he wanted to play with the gorilla. In the blink of an eye, that’s exactly what he did.

Zoo personnel made the correct decision which was to take the gorilla down. If you think the gorilla could be tranquilized, you’re wrong. It could take at least a half hour for the tranquilizer to take effect vs. seconds for that child to be gone.

It was a double-edged sword; damned if you do – damned if you don’t.

Our question is: “How did that child get in that habitat so quickly?” This may be a warning, you know there is a saying that if you hurt someone hard in their pocketbook is when they pay attention.

We’ve visited the Bronx Zoo through the Perth Amboy Department of Recreation. Besides parents with children, there are many organizations that take children on field trips.

All I can say is: “God bless those chaperones.” It’s a big responsibility to be responsible for safety of another person’s child.

It’s very important to follow zoo safety. Children will be children, but let’s not forget there have been some crazy adults who have exhibited idiotic behavior at zoos. We’ll leave it at that.

People forget that many of these animals were taken from the wild and placed in a habitat that is similar to where they came from. Even their own trainers and handlers have occasionally been attacked by them.

Here’s another story which caught our attention. Here is a video featuring the granddaughter of a WASP (Women Air Service Pilot). These women piloted new aircraft and did jobs that their male counterparts did when the men went off to combat. Yet, these women were paid half the salaries of their male counterparts.

During the testing of some of the new aircraft piloted by these women, 38 of these women pilots were killed. There fellow women pilots would collect money to have their fallen comrades bodies shipped home by train.

These women were given Veteran Status and allowed for their ashes to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Unfortunately, that ruling was overturned and so were their benefits.

But a petition was created on Change.org to right that wrong. And on May 21, President Obama signed HR 4336, reinstating the rights of the WASP to be interned in Arlington National Cemetery.

On Sunday, June 5 there was a congressman interviewed on a radio program where the subject was about Veterans. He mentioned the fact that 18 to 22 Veterans commit suicide a day. What was very jarring was when he talked about one particular Veteran. This Veteran he mentioned was taking 32 prescription pills a day for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Fortunately, that Veteran is still alive and what helped  that Veteran is even more striking. He was given a service dog and he now only takes 2 prescription pills a day.

Something so simple made such a big difference. I wonder how many other Veterans could have been helped by such a small, but large gesture.

The Paws for Patriots program provides service dogs to Veterans who need help and don’t qualify under the military’s requirements. www.guidedogs.org There are other organizations, too.

C.M. & K.M.