We thought that since all political scandals have been dubbed some sort of “Gate” thingie, since the days of Watergate, We decided to name this debacle Open Late Gate, or if you want to use the hashtag version, #OpenLateGate.

As we saw just a few days ago, Princess Pinky was not amused at the reduction in hours when her most faithful fans can visit her. We won’t even talk about all the joggers that use the zoo for their early morning runs, or the cars that rely on North Road as a commuting alternative.

Far be it from me to jump on a pony that is not tethered in my own paddock, (ha!) but as a promoter of panda satire, I have a close relationship, not only with pandas, but also with the people who visit them regularly, if not incessantly. While the national zoo is free to walk in by anyone with no admission charge (huzzah!) many of the panda faithful, and I’m guessing fans of other animals as well, (wait! There are other animals at the zoo besides pandas?) buy zoo memberships in order to support this beloved institution. At the higher levels of membership, you can also park your car there, which is an added benefit. (Did I mention they have PANDAS???)

An article I read recently added up the lost hours, which amounts to being closed for 7.5 days each month.

As Pinky is inclined to say…

“Dis. Will. Not. Stand!!!!!”

…or as Bubba says, “dis. not. stan!”

I hope you noted Mei Xiang’s masterful attempt at censoring Pinky’s comment. Sigh…what’s a mother to do?

So, if you have an opinion about all this, and would like to weigh in (more respectfully than Pinky, of course) here’s the link to the contact page at the Smithsonian National Zoo. After all, if they don’t know what the people think, they’ll just think we don’t care. After all, it is the people’s zoo!

Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda