Today I turn 47. On June 13th we will celebrate Queen Negra’s 47th birthday.
I hope you will consider honoring us both today, as well as supporter Monica Best, who had her own birthday last week, by donating to our GiveBIG page.
In truth, we don’t know exactly how old Negra is or what day she was actually born. No one celebrated her birthday before she came to the sanctuary. This year, however we are inviting all of you to join her birthday celebration.
We chose June 13th to celebrate her because it was the day she and her six friends arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2008. It marked a new birth for her and for all seven of the chimpanzees.
When Negra and her friends arrived, I was the Director of Outreach for the sanctuary and J.B. was the Director of Operations. We had met the chimpanzees at the Buckshire Corporation months previously and wrote about those early meetings when this blog was in its own infancy.
I absolutely do not have a favorite chimpanzee. I truly love them all. There’s something unique about each of them that makes me admire and appreciate them. That said, it didn’t take me very many visits to confess my love for Negra.
Back in 2008 when so many people were working incredibly hard to get the chimpanzees to CSNW, I never would have guessed that I would still be here twelve years later. And I definitely would not have guessed that Negra would still be here.
Supporter Kathleen Corby, in wishing me a happy birthday today, reminded me of this blog post I wrote about Negra a couple of years ago.
There’s probably a common theme to many of the posts I’ve written about Negra, who was the oldest of the group. The theme, whether written explicitly or just implied, is the limited amount of time Negra might have to experience her sanctuary life and therefore, indeed, every single moment was invaluable.
Witnessing Negra do even the simplest things brings me immense joy, like when she was eating scraps in the greenhouse last week:
or swinging from the fire hose Super Negra style the other day:
Not bad for a 47 year old, if I do say so myself.
Two days ago, Kelsi and Chad were attempting to close up the chimp house after dinner. J.B. and I live in the residence on the property, a stone’s throw from the chimps’ home. I had gone outside to take some trash out, and I noticed Kelsi and Jamie on a walk. Jamie noticed me too and insisted I join them.
One walk turned into a few walks. After a bit, Chad went home and Kelsi went back inside to finish up some tasks.
It was the most beautiful evening I have ever experienced at the sanctuary. The weather was perfectly comfortable, with very little wind, which is unusual in the spring. The grass had taken on that almost unbelievably green luminescence, there were flowers, birds, and squirrels in every direction, and the fruit trees were attracting thousands of pollinating insects. Life was literally everywhere.
The cows were grazing on one side of me while Jamie slowly sauntered on the other side. She was picking dandelions, eating their stems, and discarding the flowers.
There was a magazine article that came out several years ago that described the sanctuary property as bucolic. At the time, it made me laugh. Only a writer who lived in a big city would use that word to describe the grounds. But the other night as I looked around, listening to the cows happily grazing, watching the swallows flitting by, and walking ever so slowly on the other side of a fence from a chimpanzee, the word came back to me. If ever there was a bucolic scene, even with the unusual addition of a chimpanzee, it was this.
Jamie’s walking ritual has always presented opportunities for me to reflect. It’s ironic, in a way. Jamie can be a very intense individual. No one would describe her as laid back. But her need to walk and her desire to have a human join her has helped me on multiple occasions tamp down my own moments of intensity, allowing me to relax and be in the moment.
And so it was the other night as we walked or just stood and took in the bucolic scenery around us.
When she was finally satisfied with walking, we settled in the greenhouse so she could groom the boots on my feet, as that is perhaps the most important part of her ritual.
I took this photo of her hand holding the stick that she poked through the mesh to groom my boot:
I’ve been noticing those hairs on Jamie’s hands for about a year. Like humans, as chimpanzees age, sometimes their hair loses pigment and fades to gray.
Foxie too has been collecting gray hair these last few years. Here’s a photo I took of her the day after her exam as she lie perfectly content with her purple haired doll. In addition to the gray hair, we know from Foxie’s radiographs from earlier this week that she has arthritis in one of her hips. Other than those normal signs of aging, she seems to be in tip-top shape.
We’ve long described the chimpanzees as aging in reverse. They really did gain years on their lives when they arrived at the sanctuary. There is no denying now that they are aging in a forward direction.
Just like me.
Just like all of us.
Every moment is precious because there are a finite number of moments, and we don’t know what that number is. It’s both the tragedy and also the incredible beauty of our own lives and of caring for other living beings.
Who would have guessed that we would be so lucky to have had so many moments – coming up on twelve years worth of them – with these special seven chimpanzees, and now with three more special chimpanzees and four very cool cattle.
What a privilege to be getting older with all of them. And what a privilege that you are here too, a part of all of our lives.
A most touching post Diana. You truly have a “birth” days every day there.. re-birth is possibly the most valuable kind of birth. I hope you, the chimps and staff have a year full of experiences and treasures – these photos are some of the most stunning I have seen posted. Happy Birthday Diana.. and Queen Negra, happy moments to you every day.
Thank you, Judy! Happy moments to you everyday too.
I love all the family members and your words today really served as a special message to me. Thanks
I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for reading the blog!
Happy Birthday, Diana. My how time flies when you are expanding a sanctuary and filling it with seven plus three different pant boots and 4 moo cows! How blessed we have been to watch you work your magic since the arrival of the seven. Look at all you have accomplished for these lucky chimps since then! It is an honor to know you and to call you a friend. The world is a much better place with you in it! Happy 47th birthday! Love and pant boots plus Jamie’s boots, ?Karen and Don
Karen & Don – thank you so much for the birthday wishes. Time really does fly by. Thank you for being such good friends to the chimpanzees and the humans of CSNW too.
Beautiful and moving words.
Happy Birthday, Diana! You’ve got me crying again with your beautiful reflections. Thank you so much for being born and, at age 35, bringing this incredible bunch to help you and J.B. grow the sanctuary. Wishing you a wonderful next year on earth. I’m looking forward to Negra’s celebration in June. Love to all, Linda
Thank you, Linda! I hope the tears were the good kind. I’ve been doing some of that myself lately too. Love to you too!
Oh hail the Queen Neggie what an adorable chimp you are. Just love how fantastic you look. Love the photo of you eating the scraps.
Also best wishes to you Diana. May your day be enjoyable. Love to you all. Michelle x
Thank you, Michelle!
My second birthday wish to you, this one to say thank you for the update on my Tiny friend (I, too, feel one hip getting tighter in the last year or so) and to say that I hope there was some yummy cake involved!
Neggie’s sweet face in the top photo is almost overshadowed by Foxie’s gun show there!
Thank you, Linda! I look forward to birthday pie each year lately and this one was really good!
Ha – Foxie’s gun show – I had to go back and look at that photo. She’s tiny but fit!
I think one of my favorite Neggie moments was when they met the 3. Jamie was reacting a bit, Mave was hugging her, and Neggie just sat there holding her lettuce. She started to offer her a piece, as if to say, “here, Jamie, have some lettuce. It always makes me feel bett–oh, no, not this piece. I want this piece. ” It’s always amazed me that she remains round, when her favorite thing is lettuce! That, and her swings off the platform make me identify with the Queen.
What a beautiful and inspiring blog today. Happy Birthday Diana and Negra just in case
it might be really today. I can only imagine how gratifying taking care of the chimps and
the bovine can be. Since I rescue dogs and attempt to understand what they might
have been through I can totally relate to your position in caring for these beautiful
animals. The best of luck with that. Sounds like you thoroughly enjoy every moment.
Thank you.
Thank you for the birthday wishes and thank you for your work rescuing dogs!
I first read this post right before heading to bed. I read it twice to be honest. Then I clicked on all the links and read the posts from days gone by. I had so many thoughts and emotions I had to wait to respond. First thing that struck me (beside that scrumptious photo of my beloved Neggie with dear Foxie in the background) is how young you are Diana. Forty seven! Second is the fact that your life has great purpose. In a little over a decade you have accomplished more than most could in a lifetime. And everything you do is not for personal gain or recognition (far from it!) but instead, everything is for the betterment of others. You take no credit, you move through your life with a quiet grace.
The other thing that struck me was the reality of your forty seven years and Negra’s (assumed) forty seven years. Stolen from her mother in Africa as a baby to then live out a life where she couldn’t choose her path. Even worse, Negra was forced to live a life where she was tortured, stressed, living in fear and isolation. But the stars aligned and you and Negra found each other. Negra’s life is hers now. All hers. However (and this got to me the most) Negra’s forty seven is not quite equal to a humans forty seven. While I try to ignore the reality that the chimps are aging, and I so loved it when you said Negra and the others were “again in reverse”, I do know forty seven is old’ish for a chimpanzee. One would assume all those harsh years of suffering makes Negra’s forty seven hard hit. But then I like to believe that maybe, just maybe, these 12 years of sanctuary life actually added another decade onto each chimps life. Love and care and being a part of a family change things…..
It is easy to want to help others. It is easy to desire a better world. But it is very difficult to take action and actually create the change you want to see in the world. It takes love, compassion, and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. Jane Goodall said : “We have a choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place — or not to bother.” Dear Diana, thank you so very much for bothering.
Lastly….thank you for the photo of Jamie’s hand. The beauty of it took my breath away. There is a universe in her one little hand. The delicate pattern of her thumbprint compared to the leathery creases of her fingers. And then the soft back of her hand with all those wispy black and white hairs. The rosy color in the tips of her fingernails. I love this image.
Looking forward to seeing your accomplishments expand. May you and Negra both share a wonderful 47th year together. And best wishes for many, many, many more……
Well, that made me tear up. Geez!
Thank you, Kathleen, for being here to not just witness the lives of the chimpanzees, but to so eloquently add your thoughts to these blog posts. Your support and just you being you are so appreciated.
What a moving post Kathleen.. You summed up so much of the essence of what CSNW means to everyone. I search out your posts because what you say and how you say it adds so much to the heart of this blog. Thank you… all of CSNW.. and all the SCNW supporters too!
Diana, I hope that you enjoyed your birthday present from Jamie: Her walk with you at dusk and, afterwards, her grooming of your boots. I cannot help but to think that is one of her ways of showing affection and appreciation to you. After all, you were one of the human primates who brought Jamie, Negra and the other five out of death into life. “We can be heroes,” as David Bowie sang. You were, and are, such a person. As a pal of Jody, she and I wish you a very happy birthday and a good new year of life.
Thank you, Tobin! You are so kind. I’m very happy to have that Bowie song in my head now.
Diana, thank you for a most touching post. You are a very special person carrying out your special mission. You are a hero to so many, in many ways. I am thankful for you and the work that you do. I am grateful for all those that work with you and support the Sanctuary in all different ways. It sounds like your birthday was a day of reflection and contentment spent with those you love. We hope that the year ahead is a great one, filled with good health and happy times. You deserve it:)
Great Scott, what a beautifully written piece! The line about the unknown minutes we have being both a tragedy and a beautiful thing while we take care of someone is powerful to me…..I have been the only one to care for my bedridden husband for 31 years now, and I get irritated by the daily stuff and forget about the big picture!