A Trip to The Zoo by: Gordon
Our writer friend, Gordon, is back with another tale! Just in time for summer, Gordon writes about a trip to the zoo. An activity many enjoy this time of year. For the young man in Gordon’s story, his adventure at the zoo was more than just seeing the animals. It was life-changing.
***
Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Billy Baker. Billy was 14 years old and spent a lot of time running. He would finish dinner at about six. He would then go outside and run around the neighborhood until nine. Billy would do this Monday through Friday. On Saturday, he would enter running races.
Billy’s father was concerned that he was spending too much time running and not spending enough time with the things in life that really mattered. One day his father said to him, “How would you like to do something this Saturday that will give you ten times the satisfaction that running will?” Billy said, “That would be great!”
Saturday arrived, and he and his father got into their car and started driving. After about one hour, they arrived at a large facility. Billy looked out the window and saw that it was the city zoo.
“What are we doing at the zoo,” asked Billy. “You will see in a minute,” said his father.
They got out of the car and walked through the entrance to the main part of the zoo. Inside the zoo were about 50 children. The children were all in wheelchairs. Billy and his father walked up to the woman who appeared to be in charge. Billy’s father said to the woman, “This is my son Billy, the one that I told you about.”
The woman introduced herself as Miss Jones. Miss Jones explained to Billy that the children were from Battel Children’s Hospital, and they were taking the children to the zoo to help them have some enjoyment. Miss Jones said they needed volunteers to push wheelchairs, and Billy’s father said that Billy had agreed to help.
Billy began pushing one of the wheelchairs. As he watched the children laughing, joking, and making silly faces at the animals, he realized he had never been happier.