Yesterday started out great especially for a Monday. I got a call saying I had over-paid a bill and was geating money back. I went to the bank and found out I still had some money left in my account. Then I stood in the line waiting for the soup kitchen to open. Yes, I eat at soup kitchens due to my cowardliness in life.
Standing there, I revealed to some of my buds that I had a fear of bridges. Jimmy asked, "What? A big guy like you afraid of bridges? Come on, man!"
Not wanting to be dissed, I retorted, "Well, you fear going a day without pot!"
Jimmy and another guy, Phobic Frank, laughed.
When blogging yesterday's post at the library, a very bright, very driven woman came by and gave me page 300 which I had asked her to read. On it, she had written that she "loved it."
Walking on air from my little victories so far that day, I went to the gym. The game warden was standing at the counter talking to the manager, Steve. As he walked away, I called out, "Mr. Game Warden." He turned around to face me, and I continued, "What did you think of my page?" Our ensuing conversation went something like this, but first let me emphasize, as this is a law enforcement officer, that I am not giving exact quotes but am paraphrasing: "Did you say this was a page to a book you're working on?"
"Yes, Black Panther. That was page 300."
"Okay. I gave it to my daughter to read, and she said, 'Daddy, what's a cat-hound?"
"That's cute."
"I liked it. It had a rhythm and was friendly. You felt like you were there."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me coming from a game warden and an outdoorsman."
He walked closer to me and said, "I want to write a book on (was it "ethology" the study of behavior characteristics of animals?), but that wouldn't be like this. It's more classifications. Are you still writing it?"
"Yes, still working on it."
"I'd like to see more."
"That's great! I'll tell you what: When I get to page 325, I'll give you a copy."
"That would be great. Look forward to seeing it."
His tone was warm and sincere. Propelled by the day's good news, I lifted far too long- three and a half hours. Of course, most of that was spent sitting on a bench and trying to recover from the previous set. Wiped out, I went home, drank my protein and milk mix, and got into bed as soon as possible.
This morning, I woke up abruptly and early. I had been reviewing in a dream my conversation with the game warden. I realized I had actually talked to a game warden about Black Panther, though we hadn't touched anything about what I had said, just how I had said it. I found myself fearful and regretful that I had given him the page. What was his reaction to what I had said? I felt I couldn't talk to him about fishing without letting him know I was writing an expose on black panthers and the Florida's Game Commission's attitude toward them.
There would be no honor in blind-siding him, and I have been dishonorable too much in my life.But what did he think of the validity of what I was saying? Had he called his buddies, if any, at the Florida Game Commission? I would have, but I fight clean and legally. I don't have that faith in Florida's Game Commission, not from what all the people in Black Panther have said. Plus, the logging industry will kill people who get in the way of their greedy interests. Sister Dorothy Strang was shot dead while walking down the street with her sisters by loggers. She is only one of many who get jailed or killed for opposing logging, a business that usually rapes the land and murders the animals. But it is highly profitable. Follow the money.
This leads me to the next step of walking across the street from the library where I am now to the State Attorney's Office and giving them a copy of this post so, again, the local game warden won't be blind-sided about me writing about our conversation at the gym. That means he will have my blogsite's name, and can watch what happens with Black Panther and me. The more, the merrier, aye? Peter Nickerson, 352-359-0850, peternickerson12@yahoo.com
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