I've been waiting for this moment all year. Well, actually, for three years. Emma is finally old enough to compete in the Coronado Flower Show. I'm sure this will be the first of many Coronado Flower Show competitions, with the height of her vocation as a flower show enthusiast peaking as a first-place homefront winner. My heart is swelling with pride.
This year she will be competing in the Zoo's Who's portion of the flower show. All the pint-sized participants will be submitting an animal built entirely from fruits and vegetables. I've had a local architect on retainer for the past four years and he's been working on some truly innovative designs. We've collectively decided to construct a depiction of the wild okapi, an animal native to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and so elusive that it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn.
The okapi will be constructed out of 100 percent certified-organic mangosteen, salak and white dragon fruit. Its horns will be whittled from the stalks of the Scorzonera flower, which has been flown in from my supplier in Ustyuzhny, and its fur will be made of finely shredded Shikuwasa peel. Yes, this will be the finest fruit and vegetable okapi that the Coronado Flower Show has seen in all its 86 years of existence.
The judges won't even bother scoring the droves of kitty cat faces with carrot tops for tails, or the puppy dog bodies constructed out of bananas and apple slices. No, the wild okapi is going to be so magnificent that the judges will feel compelled to place it in its own category, as it hardly deserves to share space with, let alone be compared to, the rest of the minions. Forget the notion that 2011 is The Year of the Rabbit. After the Coronado Flower Show competition, this will be known as The Year of the Okapi.
Good luck everyone!
