"Guest-blogger Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years... Today she talks about one great city named Buffalo, and a day at the zoo !Enjoy! ;D)
A DAY IN THE CITY AT THE BUFFALO ZOO
Today we decided to enjoy the sunny day and visit the Buffalo Zoo and its new tenants, Luna and Kali.
Getting off to an early start in hopes of beating the crowds, we arrived when the Zoo opened. Even
though there were events going on today, there were only a handful of people waiting to get in. Usually
as you enter the Zoo the large bear exhibit lies ahead; only an empty old rusty hole remained of the
area. The large bears were no longer at the Zoo and now around the far end of the zoo near the Zebras
were the new baby bears to take their place. Frolicking in the small water hole the babies seemed
more than happy to perform but as we watched, a Zoo official informed us that there had to be several
more million dollars raised by the end of the summer to fund a more appropriate spot for these bears or
they were to be shipped out to another Zoo.
It was more than sad to see several of the areas that once housed animals run down and/ or empty. The Zoo is in desperate need of renovation and repair and needs Buffalo to pull together and save this great place that we all have gone to for the many years. We as well as our children have grown up visiting the zoo. It’s going to take more than a few donations to do the job; they will need some large benefactors to dig deep and help save the Buffalo Zoo. In our world of ever changing technology that our children are involved in, there is nothing more enjoyable and educational than watching the animals in their habitat interact with each other.
After the Zoo we decided to stop at some places in north Buffalo including a new cupcake shop near by
and a deli that enticed us to come in. Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs are still flourishing and new
business has popped up everywhere. We still have a lot to offer including affordable housing and great
Universities with astounding growth going on. Our medical campus in the city has grown in leaps and
bounds recently and offer the most talented Doctors and professionals in our United States. There are
still many sights to visit in the surrounding areas and many places are free or for a small entrance fee.
What will it take to put Buffalo back on the map and entice people to return to this area that have left so
many years ago. It is a very slow process that takes a lot of money, time and effort. We can’t let this
great town continue to drop in population; we need young blood, new blood and people that have a
vision for this area along with the backing it takes to get something done.
We have hundreds ofprofessionals in this area still making a good living and raising productive families. I can only hope and pray that some of these individuals will have the foresight to see the value of this area and start to madea difference. I know of many people that have left the area over the last few years that have returnedfor many reasons. Yes our weather is very cold in the winter but pales in comparison to the tornadoes,floods, monsoons’ and earthquakes that occur elsewhere in the United states. It may be harder forsome to seek out a living here but if we continue to build up Buffalo and add opportunities in the
medical field as well as entice business to settle here we can offer our young people a reason to stay and
raise their families here. It’s all up to us to make that happen; pay it forward Buffalo and save your city.
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