An Original Gator Girl

 In my English class, we were asked to write about something, a recent event perhaps, that had an inherent value to us or write about something incredibly funny. Well, it wasn't exactly recent but it does hold great value in my life.

     When my children were quite young, around four or five years of age, their father and I would take them on a family vacation to stay at a beach resort for a week. We lived in Florida at the time. Most of our vacations were spent at that beach resort which was just north of the Florida Everglades.

 We were used to seeing alligators in canals nearby our home or on the side of the road, so it wasn't something new to us. I believe it was our second vacation near the Everglades and we decided it would be exciting to take the kids to one of the many alligator parks there and take an airboat ride out into the marshlands. While out in the marsh we must have seen hundreds of alligators and plenty of other wildlife as well.

     Once the airboat ride was over, the park had an alligator wrestling show. At that time, a young man around twenty or so walked into a sand pit that had two alligators in it. He walked over and grabbed one by the tail, taunted it for a minute or so, and then sat on it's back. This was, from what he told the audience watching, was a 9 1/2 foot American Alligator. He told all about their habitats, their teeth, and showed everyone how you could hold an alligators jaws closed with just two fingers. Once he was finished with the information part of the show, he asked if anyone from the audience was brave enough to come in the pit and sit on the alligator and hold it's mouth closed. No one from the audience was saying anything. So, me being the dumb*** I was, stuck my hand up and said, "I will." I couldn't believe what I had just said. The kids were saying, "go mommy, go sit on the alligator."
 
As I entered the pit and the young man told me how to approach, where to stand, and when and where to sit. The closer I got to the alligator, the more my nervous I became. Not from the gator he was holding but the one lying just 10 feet away. The young man was holding the jaws of the gator closed as I sat down on this huge creature. I grabbed the jaws of the gator and held them very tightly, to me it was a death grip. Just about that time, the young man shifted his weight and I thought he was getting up. I started to freak out and said to him, "Don't you move. You're not going anywhere." Of course he wasn't, but he wanted to see my reaction, which played good to the audience watching.

At this time my children were having a fit to sit on an alligator like mommy. The attendant by the pit gate began to lift my daughter into the pit and at that very moment the other alligator, that no one seemed to concerned about started moving towards the water. My daughter "lost it." she was holding on to the attendant so tight. Once we reassured her that it was okay to come into the pit, she was fine. She followed the young man's instructions, as I did, and came to where we were. As I got up off the alligator, my daughter hopped right on as if she had been doing it all her life. She showed no fear at all.

Well, my son, who did everything his older sister did, just had to sit on the alligator too. He was only three of four at the time. So, in walked their dad, holding my son, walked over to the alligator and sat right down. My son was actually petting the alligator. It was a sight to see. I could not for the life of me figure out why no one else from the audience wanted to do this. It didn't matter if they didn't want to.

That summer is one I will never forget. I have the VCR tape, which needs to be changed to a DVD, to look back on that day. That was the summer my family and I sat on the back of a 9 1/2 foot alligator and are still here today to tell about it.

A Sad Day

Today was a sad day in Washington, DC. Thirteen people were shot and killed in a naval yard just down the road from the White House. The gunman is dead. There have been more and more senseless killings of innocent people in the past few years.

 

 

 What is going on in this country? I guess some people have lost their ever-loving minds. Every time you turn around, someone has gone on a shooting rampage at a school or bombing innocent people. I really don't understand why these crazy individuals want to hurt so many people and then kill themselves. Maybe they just want the notoriety or to be remembered in history somehow. Well, guess what? The only thing that will be remembered are the innocent victims and their families. If they want to kill themselves fine, but they don't have to take 10 or 20 people with them. I said that I don't understand these individuals. I think that is because I am sane and they are insane.

 

Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball or I was psychic so I could see into the future and stop these disturbed individuals before they had a chance to destroy so many lives. If this happened to their family or loved ones, they would probably think twice before doing such horrific acts.

 

 

  To all the families and victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, Columbine shooting, the Boston bombing, the Washington naval yard shooting, and all the others in between, if I could take away your pain and suffering I would. I wish each and every one of you peace and solace in your time of grief.

A New Baby is Coming

         

          Some very good friends of mine are having a baby soon. The baby's due date is November 7, 2013. The doctor has told them that they are having a girl. The name they have chosen to give their new daughter is Sarah Ryleigh. I am anxiously awaiting her arrival, as I'm sure mom and dad are, too. I plan on spoiling this child just as any grandma would spoil her own grandchild.
          Sarah's father is my son's best friend. They went to school together and my son was the best man at his wedding. I have come to look at him not only as my son's friend but as a friend of mine, as well. We have done a lot for each other in the past few years.
          Sarah's mother is a wonderful young woman. We have become very close in the last several months even though I am much older than her. We spent almost every day during the summer together and even have classes together in college. She is quite nervous about becoming a mother. She asks a lot of questions which I am happy to answer, if I can. I hope that in some small way I have helped to reassure her that she is going to be a great mother.
          To my good friends and the soon to be parents of Sarah, I will be there for you when you need me and even when you don't. After all, this is my baby, too. Just kidding! 
          Sarah, I look forward to the day we meet.

                                                   

         

Best Puppies Ever: Part Two

          In my last post I wrote about how smart my dogs are. The main focus was about my dog Sheba. Today, the main focus will be about Kiki. 

                                               This is the princess, Miss Kiki D

          This is Kiki. The shelter she came from told me that she is a Border Collie and German Shepard mix. She, just like her "sister" Sheba, is from a broken home. She was  adopted two weeks after getting her "sister." My husband and I thought Sheba needed a playmate and so we went back to the shelter that we adopted her from and found and fell in love with Kiki. She was already nine months old. The two dogs were, and still are inseparable.

           Kiki is quite smart. She probably understands about fifty words. It surprises me how   well she understands the English language. Words, such as walk, kitty cat, treat, squirrel,  and din din, to name a few.  If you mention the word "walk" she goes crazy thinking she is    going for a walk. So that she does not get excited for nothing, my household spells the    word. We are also careful how we mention other animals. When we say things like, "kitty cat" she will plow right over you to get outside to find the kitty. She wants nothing more than to catch it, kill it, and bring it to me as a gift. She has done this before to a stray six month    old kitten who wandered into her backyard. In the past she has brought me several dozen   birds, two rabbits, one squirrel, two snakes, cornered an opossum once and dug up my backyard to find several moles.

          Kiki will sit at the front door, wanting me to open it so she can look at the world that is beyond her reach. If I do not notice her, she will come up to me and give me a look as if to   say, "pay attention to me" or "pet me." When asked what she wants, she will run back to the front door and sit there. Several weeks ago, I decided to try to get her to "ask" me to open   the door. Saying to her, "What do you want? Tell me what you want," she has learned to ask to have the door opened by a low guttural growl followed by one huge, loud bark. Now she   will go to the door and make the low guttural growl and if I ignore her, she will come to me and get my attention then run back to the door and bark, at which time I get up and open the door for her.

           So, as you have read in my last two posts, my puppies are pretty smart. One puppy   knows what you want her to do without having to ask and the other has learned to ask for   what she wants. If you ask me, which you didn't but I'm going to tell you anyway, I believe I DO have the best puppies ever.