Animals have always found some way into our circle - from the huge cardboard tiger above the white board in my classroom to the blue frog that mysteriously appeared on the ceiling to the sea monkeys that I think the freshmen drank.

The Kansas Coalition and I met the meerkats at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas. The description of the meerkats and the very familial relationship of the meerkats seemed to fit this family. They quickly became the highlight of the visit, easily beating the whole severed antelope leg and devoured carcass.

Reminded of the meerkats a month later, a search online led me to the Meerkats Home Page and the Meerkat Motto. I couldn't think of a better motto to represent this family, and so I adopted the meerkats and their motto.