Oh my what a week! I made a trip to Pandiego and visited our new bears on the east coast. The weather was beautiful, the company was sublime, seeing the pandas was…somewhat less than satisfactory. We all gave the SDZ the “benefit” of our constructive feedback, mostly regarding the reflective quality of the glass shielding the pandas. The glass is not negotiable, being a condition of the loan. In this world, more security is a given, even in the confines of a zoo.
But from my reports from the east coast panda friends, there is neither fogging (which was a big problem for the early morning tour.) or reflection on the DC glass, so it can be done.
But enough whining! We have plenty of reasons to do that, so let’s head over to the zoo and …
The Return of the Panda Cam Part 2!
Isn’t Josie doing a good job as house mom?
Be the Bear! Bob T is emailing his reps every day Panda
It’s that time of year, when we look back on all that has happened in the previous 12 months. Quite frankly, other than the goings on of The Panda Chronicles, I don’t want to remember any of it, and I bet you don’t either. I did a little year in review in panda ‘toons over at my Substack page. I hope you’ll hop over and read it.
So now…where are we? The DC Pandas we have followed for so long have moved encases to China. I know that’s not how it happens in real life, but that’s how it happens here. I’m still getting to know the next generation of pandas that have moved to DC and Pandiego, so they are easing into the ‘toons here. Still no word about whether new pandas will move to Pandalanta.
Ping, Frank and Mikey, Josie, and Pookie have stayed in DC to welcome Binky Li and his girlfriend, QB and show them around the panda house.
We don’t know what is going to happen here and in the world. I’m taking one day at a time, but I don’t mind telling you, I’m kinda nervous about what Felon 45 has in store for us. We are going to try our best to keep Mittens off the ZooNooZ set.
Good thing Momma Mei left the coca pitcher for Josie!
As they say in the funny papers, see ya next year!
So…here’s the thing. I really wanted to keep Mei and Tian and all the kids in DC, even though they went back a year ago, and the kids even before that. and, had there been no new pandas in DC, I probably could have kept up the fantasy that all the pandas live together in the Panda House, with the occasional visit from Six and Sebben, not to mention Frank, Mikey, Pookie, Josie, and let’s not forget Ping. I mean…Mehitabel still rules ZooNooZ and she’s been dead for almost 8 years now.
But now Binky Li and his Qing Bao have arrived. If they are to find their stories and be the stars, along with Chuie and Xinger out in Pandiego of The Next Generation, well, it was getting a bit crowded in the Panda House, and who could surpass Pinky’s stardom. So, they have moved to China, just like their real life counterparts. I think there will be stories coming from there. They have been my constant companions for more than a dozen years.
Fortunately, there will be some continuity. Frank and Mikey and Pookie (and Josie) are staying at the Panda House. So is Ping. Somebody has to show them around town! Bob and Mehitabel will still be holding down the ZooNooZ desk.
When one of my favorite mystery writers killed off one of her most loved characters in a rather brutal fashion, she said, “if you don’t let your characters sometimes have bad things happen to them, if they all live happily ever after forever, you eventually hit a story dead end.” While I do like a bit of repetition in my stories (I find it funny that Six and Sebben are always bad guests, and that their mother is always finding excuses to send them off to her sister’s house) I think by expanding the pandas’ world, there will be more, not less stories to tell. So let’s tell some stories!
We watched them land…but what was really going on inside the plane…???
The pandas have arrived in the nick of time, even if we can’t see them yet. But knowing they are here, well, I’m going to take that as a sign that life will continue.
And on that note, I REALLY hope all my peeps here have registered to vote and have already voted or have a plan to vote as soon as you can. It becomes more clear every day that TFG is in no condition to order a pizza, let alone be president. It becomes even more clear that the Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 folks are desperate to get him over the finish line so they can install tech bro fascist JD.
Democracy is a process. It is not perfect and it is full of imperfect people. But we can’t let “perfect” be the enemy of the good enough. It is kind of weird to be agreeing with Liz Cheney, but if uber conservative Liz and her dad think that electing Kamala Harris will get us to a place where democracy survives to disagree on policy another day, well, I’m agreeing with Liz.
Let’s support a democracy, where we can host pandas from China, who happen to be the descendants of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and the Son of Pinky. I want to wake up on November 6th to a President Harris, who embraces joy and possibility.
