OK, so, you know how some mornings you wake up feeling something.... I don't know, like a
premonition, or a feeling like you are surrounded by gooey, slime-like stuff that you can't really see or feel or touch, but you know it's there and it is fogging up you whole morning even before you get out of bed? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Then, you get up, take a shower, have your coffee, get things ready for your day, brush your teeth and head out the door!
Still, there it is, that foggy thing. You put on your sunglasses and they even look like they have this film smudging your vision. However, being the good worker you are, you head on into the day with optimism!
Today I decided to take the motorcycle to work, so I open the garage door and back the bike out into the driveway and get her cranked up. I never crank her up in the garage because she is TOO LOUD! After that, I walk to the front of the house and out to the road to get the newspaper and then I remembered it was recycling day so I turned and ran back to pull out the recycle bin. On the way into the garage I realized that my motorcycle was quiet. So, I went back to her to get her cranked up again and
geez, wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't crank as well as she normally does. After a few minutes I did get her running, so I then returned to getting the recycle bin out. I walk all the way back to the garage after that task and I forgot to get the newspaper! OK, so back out to the driveway for the paper only to return to the garage to hear, or NOT HEAR, my motorcycle. I delivered the paper, now running a few minutes late, and got back on the motorcycle and gave her her a whirl. Stubborn lady this morning but finally I was on my way.
I got to the van, checked my assignment sheet for today's Everglades Adventure and got my stuff in order and headed off to 7-11 to get fuel in the Swamp Van and say hello to my favorite clerk, Dee, as I got my coffee to go. As I pulled in to the 7-11, there was this little white car parked right in between both pumps which kept me from pulling the swamp van directly in for fuel. After waiting 10 minutes for her to return I decided that I could pull right up to her front bumper and maybe, just maybe, I would have enough "hose" to reach the tank and I could fill up and get outta there. The lady in the car came out and started to hassle me about being impatient and telling me if I'm in a hurry I need to learn how to manage my time better! Well, in my mind I wanted to tell her about some things..... but I simply said I waited for 10 minutes for her and she didn't show and I had a schedule to keep. She was not happy.....and the fog got thicker for me.
I picked up my customers for the day, a delightful bunch of folks, and we headed to the Everglades. Fun people these were, and the fog sort of began to go away. I started to get a little in-sync with the day and I was back on course. Then we got to the Everglades after our normal stops and soliloquies, and I began to search for alligators. In the wilderness you never know what you will see. Some days are better than others. However, one thing I know I will be able to show my customers on our full day journeys into the glades is ALLIGATORS! Right? Sure! So I was getting close to them I knew, however, I can't find them. Nowhere. I could not find the ALLIGATORS! I've spent a lot of time tracking gators in the Everglades to find their
hidey holes and to know where their territories are and to make sure my customers see ALLIGATORS! NO GATORS!
GEEZ, THE FOG was BACK! Then, not only FOG but RAIN! Not just RAIN, BUT MONSOON RAIN! So hard you couldn't see out the windows of the van! EVEN IF WE PASSED A GATOR WE COULDN'T SEE IT!
Geez! NO GATORS, RAIN, FOG! What a day!
Finally, we saw a couple of gators, four, I think total, out there in the place I normally see several dozen, but.... gators they were and I felt better! At least when we get to the "petting zoo" ol' faithful Rick will let my customers hold "Scrappy". YOU THINK!????? We got to the petting zoo and I find out Scrappy DIED!
GEEZ! It's FOGGY again!
Well, I think you get the point but I don't want to leave you thinking this day was a WASHOUT! No, on the contrary! These folks were wonderful and they were gonna have fun no matter what and they DID! We had a great time together, the
airboat ride was pretty much DRY, and only after we left our last stop did we enter the torrential downpour that COULD HAVE, but DIDN'T put a damper on the highlight of our day, the
airboat ride!
Thanks to all of you for adding to my clarity today and not letting Gator D get lost in the FOG! You were wonderful! Special thanks goes out to my little buddy Mikey for that wonderful smile that helped me get through today!
Gator D is tired after spending the day out on the water, IN THE RAIN! Goodnight all!
P.S. If you want to help others make informed decisions as to where they may want to spend some of their vacation time while they are here in our area and you don't mind taking a moment out of your time, check out the link to "Trip Advisor - Everglades Adventure" and share some comments so that others can see how your time with us went.
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