Would you, could you on a plane?

The existence of penguins on Earth just makes me happy. Ever since Eastridge Elementary School and Mr. Popper's Penguins, I've had a bemused attachment to these amazing animals. I imagine them in scenarios--playing electric guitar or bebop sax, dancing in a poodle skirt, delivering pizza, or frosting wedding cakes.

This summer's hit movie, March of the Penguins, spread penguin fondness to a great many more folks. Watching the movie my Seuss-brain kept thinking,

I would never walk.
I would take a car.*

Today it's good to know that the penguins from New Orleans' Audubon Zoo are being evacuated. They are traveling by refrigerator truck to Baton Rouge. From there, the penguins will be "airlifted out" to zoos around the country.

I can't help it. I imagine a plane full of penguins buckled into their airplane seats and watching the flight attendant demonstrate the seatbelt, oxygen mask, and use of the seat cushion as a floatation device. As soon as the plane reaches cruising altitude, flight attendants push the beverage cart up the aisle. "Would you like some ice, or some fish?" My gosh! Penguins returning their tray tables to the upright and locked position! One fish, two fish? Red fish, blue fish?


*The moon was out
and we saw some sheep.
We saw some sheep
take a walk in their sleep.

By the light of the moon
by the light of a star,
they walked all night
from near to far.

I would never walk.
I would take a car.