In the months when Darlene and I started dating back in early 2010, Snowmaggedon days, I remember seeing photos of her at a place called the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. During one of her USAID trips she had some time to go and commune with the animals. And from the photos it seemed that she had this natural ability to connect with them. They wanted to be around her:  

She was like the horse whisperer, but with giraffe.

Anyway, when the opportunity arose to visit a place my lovely wife had been years before, to walk where she walked before she met me, I was excited to experience the place. And the knowledge that she understood these animals assured me that I, too, might be able to get close to them.

Things turned out a bit different. For one, the animals seemed to have become a bit ornery judging from the signage.

And the beasts were not as willing to cuddle as they were in the past. In fact, they did not even seem to remember Darlene. They spurned not only her love, but even her food offerings. This video shows our attempts to even get them to come close.

While the giraffe never put their heads on our shoulders, or ate from both of our hands at the same time, they did come close and one licked me a few times. Or maybe he is sticking his tongue out at me.