Yesterday, I went north to join some like-minded degenerates for a charity game to raise some funds for the Bear Creek Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary.

I could not have come up with a better way to spend an afternoon. Seriously, how awesome is this: hanging out on a back deck, overlooking a big yard with a horse paddock beyond it; great conversation; the amazing hospitality of BamBam and Pebbles (you two rock!); some tasty beverages; a great dinner; and a poker game with a long blind/deep stack structure.

So deep it took me almost three whole hours to Gigli. Yeah. NutzCarson outlasted me, so I have to buy him dinner at Casino Rama when we meet up there in a few weeks.

And yes, it tilted me. I hate going out first. But frankly, what happened after dinner made it all better.

As we were finishing a great nosh of roast beef sandwiches with fried onions and a pasta salad, BamBam tells us to hurry, there's a surprise waiting for us over at the Sanctuary. We all mosey down the road a few houses, and turn into a driveway to see a woman bringing out three little white animals.

Mary, who runs the place (which is no longer open to the public), let us play with three week old White Bengal Tiger cubs. I cannot even begin to explain just how fucking cool that was.






After we wore the cubs out, Mary took us for a brief tour of part of her back yard where we saw some of the animals in her care; monkeys, tigers, a 28-lb raccoon, wolves, and emus. I was looking at a bit of fencing through a gap in the trees but was distracted by something Mary said. When I looked at back, I saw this:


Some of the stories Mary told were a bit heartbreaking; animals and children should be protected more than they are.

I was totally fascinated and entranced. There's a feeling that you cannot describe when an adult tiger slowly paces only a few feet from you, stops, meets your glance and gives you a long look. Just because we don't understand animal intelligence, doesn't mean there isn't any.

Mary takes on some volunteers, so I think I'm going to try and head up there over my holidays. She also accepts adoptions and donations by PayPal, so even if you couldn't make it up to play the poker game, you can still help out.

Oh and here's one for Riggstad.....