#79 Black Panther Story, Freedom's Vigil

I called Reed, and he said he saw the black Florida panther in the late 1960s not recently as Wayne thought. Reed then related the event to me: " I was dragging that Tink's 69 behind me, and I kept hearing little noises in back of me. I saw a low limb on a tree and climbed it. I got about ten feet off the ground. The black panther came right up to the tree. I had my rifle barrel pointing right at him. I could have touched him with it. I told myself that if he looked up at me, I would shoot him. He weighed 100 to 120 pounds and was in good shape. I will remember it forever. But he didn't look up and went down the trail in the direction of my buddy. It sure put the hair up on the back of my neck. I stayed up in the tree for quite a while to make sure he was gone. Then I came down, found my buddy, and went to a nearby fire tower where I told the people there what had happened. They called three or four game wardens, but the game wardens said I was crazy."
In a few days, I received a brochure from the Panther Survival Project. The phamplet stated: "There is no documentary evidence of a 'black panther.' DNA testing shows no gene for melanism in the Florida panther." I planned to ask David Maehr about the veracity of that statement.
The only so-called professional ( I say that because professionals have to earn a living usually, and unfortunately there are almost always politics involved in earning a living.) to support the idea of the existence of a black Florida panther came unexpectedly while I was shopping for thermal underwear for Jon at Brasington's in Gainesville. I saw an old picture of a huge, drugged tan panther with a triumphant couple holding the panther. The man was athletic looking, and the blonde woman very attractive. I asked about the picture, and a clerk replied, "Oh, that was taken back in the seventies when _____ (I forgot the name immediately as always) was doing some work on them." (To Be Continued)
FREEDOM'S VIGIL: I hope you are picking up the double-speak of the Obama campaign. We saw some of it when John McCain halted his presidential campaign to work as a Senator back in Washington, D.C. to try to resolve the bailout question. Obama then called him "erratic." If McCain were more intense about his campaign, he would respond, "If Senator Obama wasn't needed back in Washington, why was he elected Senator? He is now the leader of the Democratic Party. Why doesn't he go back to Washington and try to lead America out of this financial crisis? Is he more concerned about his campaign than America?" This question can still be asked, and would be a perfect potshot for Sarah to make. Let's change the saying, Crazies on the left; wimps on the right!