The Song of the Lion

It was a brisk spring day, and the Tiger and I decided to go have an adventure in town. So we packed up a couple of his outfits, for the art museum, you know; and my camera and my tunes box and a cold orange soda for later. And we raised the moon roof and cranked the CDs up high in the car, and off we went to town in my little Mazda. Zoom zoom!

Our first stop was the horse barns, where we welcomed the newest baby horse to the Penn State herd. He didn't have much to say, and seemed mostly exhausted, napping on the ground under his mother's watchful gaze. "Welcome, little one," I whispered, as his nearby mom placidly munched away on some tasty hay.

And then we parked the car and walked all around campus. First, we went to the Nittany Lion shrine, which you may see in the extras. Once a lion, always a lion, I say! T. Tiger even sat on the lion, though the lion was much more slippery than we expected, and T. Tiger almost slid off. Lions and Tigers, oh my!

We headed for the Westgate Building after that, a building formerly known as the IST Building, which straddles North Atherton Street, not far from the bus station, and the laundromat where my husband and I met all those years ago. I love to take pictures of its reflections, though the building itself on a day like this was a total WIND tunnel, wow! A light/dark reflections shot is in the extras for your viewing pleasure; yep, I'm a confirmed people watcher, to be sure.

The alumni gardens called to us, and T. Tiger played on the Olympic Wanna-Be's statue, as I took pictures. Oh no, and then he took a tumble! And as I was wiping the dirt off and tucking that Tiger back into my daysack, I heard someone calling my name, and looked up to see a friend of mine walking toward me.

She was with a friend, and of course, they came over to see what I was doing. "He's here," I said, nodding, as I lifted T. Tiger out of his sack for her to touch him: "Himself!" I said. "Who is this?" her friend asked. "Why, it's Tiny Tiger! He's an Internet celebrity!" I said. "Why have I never heard of him?" she asked. "If you were my Facebook friend, you'd see him almost every day!" I added. (Message to my friend: I am so sorry if your friend thinks I am looney tunes! But I just can't change who and how I am!)

We visited the Engineering library that we like, down by College Ave., looked longingly at the Corner Room, spent a few minutes in the HHDEV building with its amazing Escher-like stairwells, and then walked up past Old Main and from there to the Palmer Museum of Art, where we spent a placid half-hour (that involved quite a few wardrobe changes, let me tell you) before marching on over to the Arboretum. The gardens were rather quiet, and as it was chilly, the bees were quite reserved. A good thing, too, for T. Tiger had forgotten his marvelous beekeeping hat!

Now, there was a moment during my day when I was standing near Old Main, taking the photo that you see above. And some Lion Ambassadors came by, walking backwards, as they do, leading tours of campus for prospective students and their parents, shouting out factoids.

I always resist the urge to TELL these people something as they go by, and I'm not sure exactly how to say it best, but here is my message: If you step onto this beautiful campus in springtime or in autumn, it will capture your heart perhaps in ways that no other place can, and you just may be hooked for life!

And more: This is MY Penn State and it has been for me a place where all of my dreams came true. When I walk this campus again in springtime, I am 17 once again, with all of my life and every possibility before me. I hope it will be a place where dreams come true for YOU.

It is my custom to include a soundtrack song to go with my Blip pictures and stories, and so here is my song for this day: Pat Benatar, with One Love (Song of the Lion).

One day every eye will see truth before the light
Let it be done right now
One day every voice will speak strong against the night
Let us be one right now
So let it be

P.S. It is just cracking me up right now, thinking that T. Tiger is the Mrs. Columbo of this Blip-show. I talked about him all through this posting but never showed him to you, yet I know you can fully imagine him on his grand Penn State adventures!