The Joy Left Behind

I watch him purchase "Alligator Food" ... a sandwich bag full of yesterday's leftovers ... and gleefully place it on the ends of hooks affixed to poles so he and his granddaughters can ... yep ... feed the Gators.

I'm not into this "tourist stuff" ... actually I'm pretty snobby about it.

Always dressing like a local ... black running shorts, old tee shirt and flip-flops if shoes are necessary ... I am not anti-Tourists ... I am just anti-looking-like-one.

Come to think of it ... I'm pretty anti-looking-local too.

I watch the sheer joy on his face ... a 60 year old man becomes 8 ... as his 8 and 10 year old granddaughters suddenly relate ... feeding Alligators at an overpriced "Tourists Trap" on Tybee Island.

I remember when it was a ... shack!

A wooden structure with beer on a porch sat beside the boat hoist.

If Paddy wasn't there ... you strolled inside to get your own beer ... and pay later.

Of course Paddy was mostly drunk so it was "The Honor System" back then.

Now it is a mecca for tourists because of incredible views and ambiance ... constant Jimmy Buffett music ... and Alligators.

The beer's cold and the food's "so-so."

Sarah and the others arrive and we sit under massive oaks decorated in white lights ... we have a killer waitress ... talk and eat as families do ... check out the tee shirt shop and the exotic birds after dinner ... before he and his granddaughters rush to feed the Gators again.

Meandering to the now closed boat hoist I stare at the marsh and the Lazaretto ... recollecting what it was ... comparing it to now.

Old friends ... now dead ... dance across the water ... from the days when it was "Criminal Creek" ... folks on an island with a fishing addiction who loved beer.

It's not that way anymore.

You must have a license or a permit for most anything and W.I.L.L. be arrested if you don't.

Turning ... I make my way to Sarah and her Dad ... and the girls ... and we feed the Alligators ... and delightfully laugh in wonderment ... at the joys they're leaving behind.

Buddy Calls

Apparently Buddy Carter is repeatedly calling everybody ... except me.

Buddy is a junior Congressman from South Georgia though already an accomplished career politician.

Actually Buddy and I grew up in the same neighborhood so we've known each other our entire lives ... which makes me curious that he's calling everybody else but not me.

I wonder if it's because I'm pretty liberal about ... oh ... most everything!

Buddy and evidently everyone he's calling are conservative.

It's easy to piss off conservatives because they're already angry about ... oh ... most everything!

I have to say though, it is hilarious watching them turn on one another.

Buddy makes a couple of calls ... he probably needs some advice ... perhaps to get a friend to bring him beer and cigarettes ... maybe a gun ... because God knows in Congress you can always use one!

The entire Republican base is outraged because Buddy is calling asking for something.

It's normally the other way around.

You're supposed to call the elected official and ask ... well ... unless it's election time then the rules of politics clearly state they can call you a thousand times a day asking for "money and vote" ... Chapter III: Article 7; Section 28-C of the "Politicians Handbook".

Regardless ... Republicans crack me up!

Honestly ... Democrats do too!

I have a fondness for "Libertarians" though ... "Libertarians" are Republicans who smoke Pot.

I think more Republicans should smoke Pot ... especially in Congress ... because God knows W.A.Y. too little happens there anyway ... so it'll be good to slow things down more.

I'm sure that's why Buddy's calling.