beatrixszucs

Recently (and finally), I watched the award-winning documentary March of the Penguins.
It blew my mind.

Since I was young and in grade school, I have had this great appreciation for these mini tux’d up waddlers..  It may have started in 3rd grade when we read this book Mr. Popper’s Penguins and afterwards had a short assignment to write a letter to Mr. Popper(for one reason or another).  To our surprise, we received responses!  Mine included kind words and most exciting, a promise of a pet penguin!  Oh, I was super excited as you can imagine –a penguin!  Of course, had I not been a believer as I was at that impressionable age, I would have realized that the letters of response were most likely written by students in a higher grade than ours, also as an assignment.  Well, I waited eagerly, for a penguin that would never come.  As I “grew up” however, I realized the reality behind it all (after all, a pet penguin, in FL?… lol), but my fascination for these creatures did not dwindle.

After watching this documentary, my fascination is once again renewed.  Not only is it remarkable that these animals can withstand the outrageously frigid temperatures of the Antarctic, but their entire existence goes toward finding true love (this movie covers only 1 year in their life).  The majority of their lives involve traveling hundreds of miles (20 days straight!) through an environment where no other sustainable life exists, finding a mate, and taking care of one another together, separately.  Finding one another through a sea of thousands of seemingly identical faces, they use sound to locate their spouse (and later their chick).  That’s just the beginning though, and I could carry on but won’t.  What I admire most?  Their tenacity, dedication,  and devotion to their other half through this entire process -it is something truly spectacular: the love of a penguin : )