My mother loved giraffes. Well, she loved monkeys and penguins as well. She fed local homeless dogs and thought pigs were adorable. But her love of giraffes amused me. Her love of penguins was passed down to my son. He has over 20 stuffed penguins we have gotten from all over the world. We were so fortunate to witness the march of the penguins in Melbourne, Australia and his love of penguins went to infinity and beyond. My mom was enamored with monkeys. Who isn’t? They are absolutely adorable and hilarious when angry. But let me get back to giraffes.

Cute, tall gentle giraffes. I feel like giraffes are misunderstood. I don’t have any polling data to back that up, but I just feel it. How about this? I didn’t know this about them until this past month, but they hum at night. Did you know that? A few years back (how did I miss this?) a team of biologists managed to record giraffes at three different zoos humming at night. Apparently, this was huge news considering that many had believed till that point that guraffes couldn’t vocalize because they couldn’t generate enough airflow to do so because of their very long necks. See, they have been misunderstood. In listening to the recordings, the biologists characterized the giraffe vocalization as a deep, sustained sound. In other words, humming.

If my mom were still alive, she would have written an ode to their humming. These beautiful giants that I got to see up close in South Africa are not only stunning but they also defy expectations. Unassuming yet so much more complicated than initial appearances. They listen and stare. At night, amongst themselves they hum and talk. Well, you get my point. Always try to listen and when you speak bring a melody to it. Break down and defy other’s expectations.