Monday, July 30, 2012

Cockroach Rescue

Saturday Mark and I had the privilege of attending the Whole Blu World event at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago;  a hoity-toity, prom for grown-ups, dress to the nines kind of event.  And for us...it was free, courtesy of a generous investor who is linked to Mark's company and who also LOVES donating to the aquarium.  To this generous benefactor I say: Thank You! We had a ball.

Although I have no idea how much was donated in our behalf, I do know that it was enough to merit our wearing a VIP band on our wrist all night.  I hope that this somehow made up for the fact that we were NOT dressed to the nines, in fact we barely made it past the sixes.  So if anyone asks...we were the 'eccentric' philanthropists at the party.  Yeah...that works.

Tables were strewn throughout the aquarium, offering hors d'oeuvres size menu samples from some of the best restaurants in town. I skipped the caviar table not only because that stuff tastes nasty, but because it's just rude to serve fish eggs at an aquarium. Live music was enjoyed and a dance commenced on the patio that overlooked Lake Michigan.  The dazzling view of Chicago's glittering skyline was even more spectacular than the fireworks show.  

But the highlight of the evening?  For us, it was the discovery of a Madagascar Cockroach that had escaped from an exhibit.  This baby was HUGE and it was just about to enter the main exhibit area and either cause a commotion, or meet an untimely demise.  Well, seeing as we were playing the part of the eccentric philanthropists that night....we rescued him.

Mark scooped him up while I squelched the desire to have a panic attack.  We began to look for an employee but opted instead for a discreet toss of the critter back behind a partition at the Amazon exhibit.  Surprisingly, no one even noticed we were carrying a large cockroach around; maybe he looked like an hors d'oeuvres?

These are the cupcakes we were given to take home as we left the aquarium.
Everyone got one, even people who did not save a bug's life.


Friday, July 6, 2012



For more on Persistant Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia please see: "The Side Effect That Won't Go Away" tab at the top of my blog and be sure to visit  www.aheadofourtime.org