One of the coolest parts of Jason’s speaking programs is when he draws. I’m his wife and have the chance to see him draw all of the time and it still ignites in me childlike excitement and wonder.
How does he do that?
In the early years at speaking programs he would draw on an easel with a big pad of paper and a thick black marker. We’re fortunate that technology has grown along with our audiences and now he is able to project his drawing onto a screen using a drawing tablet and LCD projector. It’s pretty neat. I enjoy watching the audiences sit at the edge of their seats as they watch his simple lines become a picture of something that ties right into his talk.
One of the things Jason draws is a giraffe. He uses the giraffe as one piece of evidence that our God is a creative God. “No Fortune 500 Board of Directors would’ve come up with the giraffe,” he assures the crowd. We are fortunate to have a free zoo in Madison and it actually has “name animals,” one being our long necked friend. They are fun to just sit and look at. Their tongues are crazy long and those little hairs on their necks are amazingly straight and stiff.
Little did I know that this recent speaking trip to CO would take my knowledge and experience with giraffes to a whole new level. As Jason mentioned in his recent blog, we snuck in some playtime during our trip and visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. At an elevation of 6,800 feet it’s America’s only mountain zoo. The layout spans the height of ten-story building. Our legs were sore after our visit. The landscape would’ve been worth the price of admission even if there weren’t any cool animals. Not only did they have cool animals, they had a herd of giraffes (20 in all) that you could feed. Their website even has a live giraffe cam. I was in complete childlike awe. The chance to feed the giraffes would go down as one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.
Jason got a quick video. As you’ll see I was a little nervous, as I ended up dropping some of his/her food attempting to avoid an entire palm full of giraffe slobber.
It was the perfect combination of nervousness and giddiness. What a childhood mixture! It’s been a long time since something got me that excited. It reminded me of that passion of Steve Irwin that we’ve all been blessed to have witnessed. There is something very exhilarating about being that close to an animal of such magnitude.
The zoo is a great place to help treat your Adultitis.
[tags]Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado, giraffes, Steve Irwin, Adultitis, Fortune 500[/tags]