Guilty Subsistence

Good example of the thrashing about trying to get the words just right. I always have mixed feelings about zoos: last time I visited one, over twenty years ago on the East Coast as a sort of memory-lane/childhood echo thing, instead of wonder and awe I wound up feeling depressed and angry. Guess the experience of seeing wolves, bears, eagles etc. in captivity after watching them live, in person, in the wild, puts a sad perspective on the whole scene. It aesthetically ranks up there with the difference between pornography and the real thing, though modern zoos are supposedly much better at recreating environments and ensuring decent living conditions (apart from being in cages).
I was sketching at the local watering-hole over brunch yesterday, and noticed a young kid at the bar (never mind that) who was drawing on the back of a menu, which is one of my habits as well. After complimenting her work and returned to my table, the server told her I was a cartoonist and art teacher, and so she did another drawing and signed it just for me, which I reciprocated in turn with one of my own. Did feel kinda bad that this happened to be the panel appearing in the paper, could been funnier if not more kid-friendly example. Oh well, Beer-Battered Free Willy and all that....