Betty White is definitely on my Top Ten List of people I would like to meet and interview. She is not only remarkably talented and witty, but she is also very dedicated to animals and animal rights. However, Betty White did give me a recent scare. Here’s what happened:
I love to read. It’s a ritual I partake in before I go to sleep at night and I often read in the morning when I wake. I rarely get quality sleep at night. Sleep brings out the “Type A” in me. I somehow use my dreams to intensely work out my experiences from the day. By morning, I don’t want to wake and leave my dreams. I am often still trying to solve the issues I am processing during the night. So reading helps me transition. Reading helps me settle into sleep at night, and in the morning it helps help me come back into my body and a somewhat awake reality.
That being said, as I was recently waiting for my local library to get me the middle book in a series I was reading, I decided to visit my own bookshelf. I looked for a quick read to hold me over. I love standing at the shelves and just randomly picking something that calls to me. With all the choices in front of me, I selected Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo by Betty White.
I can’t say enough about this book. Betty White ALWAYS amazes me! I think even more of her now that I know that she has been on the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens fundraising arm since 1974. That’s over 40 years of service! In the book, Betty shares her favorite experiences with animals at the LA Zoo and other zoos across the country, which she finds time to visit whenever she travels. The photographs and anecdotes are just fabulous! Most of the photos were taken by Tad Motoyama of the Los Angeles Zoo. He definitely has a great job!
Betty White thoroughly had me enthralled with her book until the chapter entitled “My Misunderstood Friends.” You guessed it, much of the chapter is devoted to snakes and reptiles. I don’t have many fears in my life (at least not ones I like to admit!), but I am not particularly fond of snakes. I have never appreciated the “surprise factor.” You know, that experience you get when you are out enjoying nature and suddenly a snake happens across your path. Of course, it’s hard to say who is most surprised and all parties just want to run away from the other.
Well, unfortunately, I happened upon the “Misunderstood Friends” chapter and photos at night right before I fell asleep. After winging through the pictures as fast as I could and then going onto a fuzzier mammal part of the book, the stage was set. I had a night of dreams that included snakes at random points.
My husband, Al, noticed I was especially groggy the next morning. He was so sweet to ask me how I slept. I answered, “Betty White gave me nightmares!” He snickered at me and said, “You really need to start writing that blog!”
Love Betty White as much as I do? Check out her other books here!
Also, to find out what other random books grace my bookshelf, check out these additional book reviews.