April the Giraffe & The People’s Choice Awards

This morning I was enjoying my morning coffee and watching a show that I had recorded on the DVR off of the E! network. I saw an ad for the People’s Choice Awards show that will be broadcast on Sunday, November 11, 2018, and thought to myself, “OOH! I have to set the DVR for that to see if April wins her category!” Immediately after that thought I nearly spit my coffee out as I laughed out loud as I realized I had just remembered to watch to see if my favorite giraffe would win her category of an award show. “Boy, that’s yet another phrase I never thought I would say,” I thought, and continued to laugh as I wondered if we would see her walking the red carpet with a tiara perched upon her ossicones and perhaps a designer wrap around her elegant neck, something couture that would accent her beautiful reticulated pattern. Of course, it is more likely that we would see Jordan Patch accept the award, as he is the owner of the Animal Adventure Park where April, her beau Oliver, and baby Tajiri all live, but it is way more fun to think of April strutting her stuff in Hollywood even if it is far-fetched and silly. I mean, she certainly had millions of people (myself included) laser focused on her every move as we waited for her to go into labor in the spring of 2017. She would be the tallest and most statuesque female at the show and I’m certain she could wear any designer very nicely with that long neck and her height. But all joking aside, this innocent giraffe has managed to continue to inspire millions of humans without making a single sound or having any idea about how many people around the world are head over hooves in love with her. I have written about April the Giraffe in the past, and have no shame in my love for her. I still have not made it to Harpursville, New York to meet her, but I hope to do so in the summer of 2019. Until I can meet her, other giraffes have helped satiate my giraffe love, like the ones who reside in the beautiful and lush savannah at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Just like the midterm elections, I did what I could and voted, so now all there is to do is wait and see the results. Of course, I will be happy for whichever animal star wins because I am happy that there is an animal star category at all! But there is just something so special about April and the fact that her personality managed to shine through to her millions of fans via a simple, ordinary camera perched up in her barn. It’s still somewhat hard to describe how different she looks from other giraffes, how her face seems softer and her expression more friendly. I am sure some readers think that I must be rather insane for thinking that this one giraffe has provided so much comfort for so many people simply by being. I am still in multiple Facebook groups with thousands of members who have formed friendships and connections over our shared love of this giraffe family, but particularly because of April herself. While some people simply remember that pregnant giraffe who had her time in the spotlight, there is still a loyal fanbase that continues to find inspiration in her simple life eating carrots and chilling in New York state with Oliver and Tajiri. Some of the group members are like me and just share photos of other giraffes or giraffe quotes and products that we find, and others reach out in a much more personal way to be comforted about hard times in their lives, about losses they have sustained, illnesses that they battle, depression and loneliness that they face daily. They do this because they know they have found friends, a tribe of sorts from all around the world. My family laughs at my April the Giraffe obsession. They’ve gotten used to me surprising them with news like, “April is pregnant again! She’s due next spring!” or “April’s son is going to get to stay at the park with her!!!” This can be confusing because we have a neighbor who is also named April. Needless to say, it can get confusing when I do not add “the Giraffe” to my excited outbursts. Even if April the Giraffe does not win the People’s Choice Award for Social Media Animal Star tomorrow, she will still be the favorite giraffe of millions of people around the world and I doubt it will affect the number of romaine leaves and carrots that she receives. Plus, she’s with calf again, so she might just break the internet again and reach a whole new level of stardom next year. We will just have to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and watch. Animal Adventure Park YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnQCgFa9lCBL-KXZMOoO9Q