BIG LU is 50 TODAY
January 26, 2010
Steve and I went to a 10:00 am birthday party today. But it was not just any ol' birthday party. It was a birthday party for a fifty year old hippopotamus. The crowd started gathering around 9:00 am
As mentioned on a previous occasion, one of the attractions, it seems, about Lu is his biological functions. When his tail starts switching back and forth, LOOK OUT! Well, before his party got under way, Lu delighted the crowd twice. (I still don't see the attraction here, but I'm an ol' farm gal and have seen plenty of poop in my life.)
A huge sign was hung over his cement beach that proclaimed the big Five-Zero. Lu was kept in the water and not allowed on his beach. Usually, if he on his beach, he prefers to sleep. The regular Park volunteers said he knew something was going on...probably because as he kept opening that giant mouth of his, no watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew was being tossed in.
The gathering crowd waited patiently. It is a traditional at the Park to invite children from Homasassa Elementry School to these birthday parties. They were late. Finally, a group came clambering around the corner. It was announced that anyone over the age of ten needed to take two steps back. This was so that the tiny pre-K younguns could get to the front to see. Usually, when I have to lose my front row spot, it is for someone that is 9 foot 3. But the little tykes barely came to ones hip. The three busses of kindergarteners arrived about ten minutes later. There is something magical about the reaction of the young. The awe in their faces is so uplifting. Unfortunately for them, Lu had already pooped twice and was not going to do so again while this particular crowd was there..
Lu's regular diet is primarily melons and some other fruits and vegetables with hippo vitamins added. His diet is the same almost every day. Thanksgiving, Christmas and his birthday are the exceptions whereby he gets special treats.
As mentioned on a previous occasion, one of the attractions, it seems, about Lu is his biological functions. When his tail starts switching back and forth, LOOK OUT! Well, before his party got under way, Lu delighted the crowd twice. (I still don't see the attraction here, but I'm an ol' farm gal and have seen plenty of poop in my life.)
A huge sign was hung over his cement beach that proclaimed the big Five-Zero. Lu was kept in the water and not allowed on his beach. Usually, if he on his beach, he prefers to sleep. The regular Park volunteers said he knew something was going on...probably because as he kept opening that giant mouth of his, no watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew was being tossed in.
The gathering crowd waited patiently. It is a traditional at the Park to invite children from Homasassa Elementry School to these birthday parties. They were late. Finally, a group came clambering around the corner. It was announced that anyone over the age of ten needed to take two steps back. This was so that the tiny pre-K younguns could get to the front to see. Usually, when I have to lose my front row spot, it is for someone that is 9 foot 3. But the little tykes barely came to ones hip. The three busses of kindergarteners arrived about ten minutes later. There is something magical about the reaction of the young. The awe in their faces is so uplifting. Unfortunately for them, Lu had already pooped twice and was not going to do so again while this particular crowd was there..
Lu's regular diet is primarily melons and some other fruits and vegetables with hippo vitamins added. His diet is the same almost every day. Thanksgiving, Christmas and his birthday are the exceptions whereby he gets special treats.
For his birthday, of course he got birthday cake. The cake was iced with white and blue...about eighteen inches in diameter and four or so inches high. We were told that it was a "bread" cake (low in sugar as if a 6000 pound hippo needed to care about that!). Two Park volunteers hefted the cake and passed it to the wide open cavern of Lu's mouth. Lu received his birthday cake made by a local grocery store in one large gulp...frosting all over his head, chunks sliding out the edges of his mouth. He is not a very neat eater. The crowd went wild. One young man behind me made the comment that if he ate like that his Mom would be yelling at him instead of applauding.
Vicki Iozzia wrote a birthday song which she presented to the crowd accompanied by her guitar before we sang Happy Birthday. I don't know, isn't it just a bit weird to sing the Happy Birthday song to a hippo? Do you think he really understands? I think the only thing that he really understands is the wonderful treat.
Next came his birthday present. Yep! He got a birthday present... a brand new tractor tire split so that he can "sit" with it around him. He made some happy (I think) grunting sounds as he pushed it around. He is a happy camper.
There were real cupcakes and punch for the people who attended. The cupcakes were made by the Park staff and volunteers.
It was actually a fun thing. I know that it is something that I never done before. Hopefully, I can go to Lu's next birthday party. Fifty years old is old for a hippo, but Lu has a good life and everyone loves him.
A second party was scheduled for his regular "show" time of 12:30 pm.
For more information on Big Lu, see my December 23, 2009 posting (written on December 17, 2009)
Vicky (and Lu) also wrote a book. The book is for young children, but I could not resist buying a copy.
It is called I'm Lu the Hippopotamus (As told to Vicky Iozzia). Vicky says that Lu told her what to write and she did the photography. It is a bit pricey, but very delightful. The photography catches many aspects of Lu's dynamic personality. Information on her book can be found on
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