As I've mentioned before, my husband and I own a zoo in Branson, Missouri, in the heart of the Ozarks. We have lived here full time for almost two years now, and absolutely love our Ozark life, but we need a little help keeping the animals fed while our zoo is closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If don't need any more information and you'd like to make a monetary donation now, you can do it one of two ways:
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/wild-world-animal-care-fund
PayPal: PayPal.me/BransonsWildWorld
If you'd like a little more information, here's what's going on ...
Humans are not the only species to be greatly effected by the outbreak of COVID-19. Zoo animals across the United States are also at risk. No, these animals in a large part cannot contract the disease, but they do need daily care, bedding, heat and electricity, medicines, and most importantly food to survive. With most of the country on quarantine, this has now become a serious issue for many smaller, privately owned zoos.
Branson's Wild World is a small zoo and aquarium in the tourist town of Branson, MO. This attraction has been especially hit hard by this pandemic, due to the nature of the town itself. The winter is especially slow for Branson, and most businesses use most or all of their savings to get through the months of January and February. Then in March, spring break helps everyone climb out of debt and function normally. This is true for the zoo, too. However, with the upswing of COVID-19 cases, Branson was mandatorily closed for the month of spring break, and possibly will be for many more months to come. Many businesses can close and conserve money, but not an aquarium and zoo like Branson's Wild World. The tropical animals need heat. Electricity runs filters and pumps for fish and UV bulbs for reptiles. They need water to drink and food to eat. It takes about five full time staff to cover all the vital tasks. Being closed for any amount of time can be devastating.
Due to this outbreak and our desperate need for funds, we are asking for animal lovers to donate whatever you can to help our animal friends. All proceeds of this GoFundMe will go directly to the care of the 400+ species of animals we have in our care. We have applied for SBA disaster relief funding, but everyone says it could take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to receive anything. Our goal is to raise money to get thru this waiting process. Our goal is $15,000.
Thank you for considering to help us. Our website is www.bransonswildworld.com if you would like to see pictures of our wolves, sharks, dingoes, and many other animals your donation will be providing for.
If you'd like to make a monetary donation, you can do it one of two ways.
One, we have a GoFundMe set up here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/wild-world-animal-care-fund
Two, you can donate via PayPal: PayPal.me/BransonsWildWorld
If you'd like to make a food donation, here is the list of food items we feed our animals each week:
Vegetables:
Romaine 20 heads
Carrots 10lbs
Cucumber 8lbs
Squash 8lbs
Zucchini 8lbs
Bell peppers 5lbs
Sweet potato 10lbs
Celery 4lbs
Mixed greens 5 lbs
Broccoli 5lbs
Cauliflower 4lbs
Fruit:
Apples 10lbs
Strawberries 4 lbs
Bananas 15lbs
Oranges 10lbs
Blueberry 2 lbs
Grapes 10 lbs
Mangos 7
Kiwi 2 lbs
Pears 5 lbs
Cantaloupe 2
Watermelon 2
Meat
Chicken 460lbs
Beef 100 lbs
Fish 50 lbs
Thank you so much, in advance, for your help.
Cheers!
Lisa
(Caption: Chris Zorich #50, Defensive Tackle for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish blocks Chris Dalman #50 of the Stanford Cardinal during their NCAA Independent college football game on 7 October 1989 at the Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California, United States. Notre Dame won the game 27 - 17. Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images)
For this week’s Throwback Thursday post I thought I’d dust off another book from my Notre Dame book shelf. What book have I picked? Jerry Barca’s “Unbeatable: Notre Dame’s 1988 Championship and the Last Great College Football Season.” Jerry does an incredible job of sharing the magic that happened both on and off the field that year, and includes backgrounds of your favorite players from the 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football team. I’d like to share a few excerpts from the book this week, focusing on one player, my friend and classmate, Chris Zorich.
(This story originally ran on OneFootDown.com)
Just nine starts into his college career, Chris Zorich had already become a cult figure. High school football players started wearing belly-showing half jerseys to look like Zorro, the beast who played nose tackle for the Fighting Irish. Before the Miami game, a group of Notre Dame students pulled names out of a hat to determine which one would win the privilege of painting his body with Zorich’s number 50.
“I had no idea. I was out there trying to have fun - and really survive,” he said.
Zorich is a sports rarity. In the lionization of athletes, his story is more truth than fable. He went to the same high school as Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus. He grew up with his mother, Zora, in a one-bedroom apartment in a two-story brownstone on the corner of Eighty-first and Burnham on Chicago’s South Side. Rent was $140 a month. Zora, a diabetic on welfare disability, received $200 a month. She slept on the couch, and Chris slept in the bedroom.
When the money ran out each month, Zora put young Chris on her bike and pedaled to the local supermarket shortly after closing. There she parked next to the Dumpster and lifted Chris over her shoulders into the trash. He picked through what the grocer had thrown out, handing his mother partly rotten meat and produce. Zora would cut away the spoiled parts, and they had their food until the next check came or until they needed to return to the Dumpster.
“She did the best she could, but there were times things were tight,” Zorich said.
Dope fiends, drug dealers, gangs, and prostitutes colored the neighborhood scene. No one went to college. If someone graduated high school, it was a major accomplishment. Zorich never knew his father, but that was never an issue. Most kids in the area didn’t know their dad. There were only about a half-dozen dads in the neighborhood of about sixty families.
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He wanted to play football when he entered Chicago Vocational High School as a freshman, but Zora refused to sign the paperwork allowing her boy to participate in the violent sport. In his sophomore year, Chris begged and pleaded with Zora to sign the permission slip. She refused. On the way to school the next day, Chris forged her name.
He lied to his mother, telling her he was getting home late because he was in the school play and participating in other school activities. The ruse fell apart when Zora found his football gear in the apartment.
“You’ve been lying to me, haven’t you?” she asked, confronting Chris. She sat him down on the couch and told him she was doing her best to raise him on her own.
They talked for several hours. Chris told her football taught him discipline and he was around people who set goals. She allowed it, but she didn’t see him play until the last game of his senior year. She was too worried he would get hurt. Chris had the assistant principal and some friends bring her to the game and sit with her in case she got upset witnessing her son on the gridiron.
“Oh my God. You’re good,” she told Chris after the game.
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At Notre Dame, Zorich found a utopia. There were tree-encircled lakes, with ducks and squirrels to hand-feed. The dining hall had all-you-can-eat food. Some students complained about it. Not Zorich. He didn’t even share his. People left bicycles unlocked overnight in front of dorms. “And they were still there in the morning,” Zorich said. “Are you kidding me?”
His freshman year, he did not play a down. On the night before home games, he slept in his dorm while other classmates, ones who had a chance to see action, stayed with the team.
He moved from middle linebacker to nose tackle in his first year. Playing on the scout team during a practice leading up to the Michigan State game, he caused havoc for the first-team offense when he put a hand on the ground on the defensive line. After practice, Holtz announced to the team that they had found the next nose tackle.
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His weight room sessions were performances. He curled as much as the punter bench-pressed, and he bench-pressed 500 pounds.
While Zorich grunted and maxed out on the bench, Ricky Watters leaned over in his face and mocked his stutter. The next thing everyone saw was Zorich chasing Watters around the weight room until the flanker escaped. Zorich wouldn’t forget. Later, at training table, he might sneak behind an unsuspecting Watters, who had sat down to eat, and clamp a headlock on his tormentor.
Part of Zorich knew it was in jest, but he only knew one way to react. “Where I’m from, when you talk shit, you’ve got to back it up, and that meant fighting,” Zorich said.
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If you’d like to read more about Zorich and the rest of the guys on the Unbeatable 1988 team, and everything that went into creating that magical season ... go check out Jerry Barca’s book for yourself! (Once you start it, you won’t want to put it down.)
If you’re not the book reading type, Jerry Barca was also one of the producers of the Hesburgh film, and if you haven’t watched it yet ... what are you waiting for?? You can watch it on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, and if you’ve got Amazon Prime, you can watch it for free!
Have you guys been reading any good books during your time staying at home? Please share with me ... I’m always looking for something good to read.
Cheers & GO IRISH!
