Platoon Sergeant Joe Dieteman
He earned a Bronze Star leading an anti-tank platoon from Marseille to Germany. We knew him simply as Uncle Joe, the Bear Wrestler.
Our First Zoo Adventure
Great-Uncle Joe wrestled bears.
He took us to the Henry Doorly Zoo. “We’ll find a bear to wrestle.”
First, monkeys. We did our best mimic.
Then, lions and tigers, pacing. Wow.
“Just wait. These guys are little.”
Finally—bears.
The black bear had just eaten. “He needs to wait an hour.”
The brown bear was still sore from last week’s defeat. “He needs rest.”
The polar bear was off-limits; he was friends with Santa. “Do you want to be on the Naughty List?”
Alas, no bear body-slams today.
Uncle Joe bought us nickel ice-cream cones.
He was still our hero.
Wonder
Otters slip and slide,
water laughter everywhere.
Meerkats stand alert.
We mimic the monkeys’ play,
wishing we could stay all day.
Invitation to Comment
My first trip to the zoo at age 4 was magical. Do you have your favorite zoo memory or animal?
I was lucky enough to grow up close to the wonderful St. Louis Zoo. We tried to make the most of each visit, riding the Zoo train to cover as much ground as possible. Elephants, big cats, bears, monkeys, sea lions - we loved them all!