[LEMONS]
5.17.2004
Who's Talking to Tigers From His Cafeteria Tray
This depresses the hell out of me. Ever since I saw the mountain lion, I've become hugely interested in America's big native cats. That which doesn't kill you makes you want to read shit about it. I think.
There was a great story in Harper's about the Eastern Cougar Network and others hoping to find something more Coelacanth than Sasquatch. In Florida, they're trying desperately to preserve the few panthers left. In the east you're lucky if you ever get the chance to see a cat in the wild. Hell, you're lucky here out West, but it happens. Maybe not in neighborhoods, granted. But those houses haven't always been there.
The thing is, have you been to Palo Alto? Have you? It's beautiful country. Nearly, but not completely, ruined by suburban sprawl. To one side, you have gorgeous rolling hills and seldom-traveled trails that wind their way through open spaces to the ocean. On the other, you have the 101. Somewhere between the two is Stanford.
Over the last several months, I've spent a lot of time in Palo Alto, both as a cyclist and covering Silly Valley stuff for Tech Daily. I was in Palo Alto today, in fact. Well, nearly. I was just getting on the 280, heading away back north to the City by the Fey, when I heard the news about the lion on the radio. What a shame. Chased up a tree by a labrador. Gunned down by a cop. That's no way to go.
Palo Alto could really use a few more mountain lions, if you ask me.
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