This is Deputy Digby Pancake. Has anyone ever told you about something or someone and said, oh, it’s just a…whatever? Like, it’s just a dog. It’s just a cat. It’s just a kid. It’s just a roach. It’s just a bird. It’s just a pancake. No. It’s never just a pancake.
You see, persons have this thing about them that they think something has to be extra dern special to make a big deal out of it. Like that party they want to go to or that car they want to buy or that house they want to live in. Maybe it’s that job they want to get or the money that comes with it. There are a lot of the big things to make a big deal about. But what about the things that are actually much bigger than all of those combined? Maybe it’s the swamp that needs to put you back in the place of appreciation for the big things that actually matter which you think are small and that make your life even possible.
In this Florida place, there are a lot of swamps. Some persons are scared by the swamps. Maybe they get scared of the owls hooting like I am. Maybe they get scared of the things in the water. Yeah, you definitely have to respect those things. Definitely. When you butt looks like a pancake, you don’t want to lose it.
But persons, when they are afraid of something in nature, they think that it’s bad. And if you are afraid of swamps, well, you don’t have to think that they are bad though. Girl Person said when it rains a lot in this Florida place, the swamps absorb the excess water so everywhere isn’t flooded for your new car.
Swamps also make up a part of the food chain. There are a lot algae and stuff that make food. Ducks can even nest in the trunks of the cypress trees. When the waters of the swamps move slow, dragonflies can lay their eggs. And yep, mosquitos lay their eggs too. But the mosquitos provide food for birds and frogs and other things as well. So you would say it’s kind of like a cycle of life. Flour, water and Girl Person makes pancakes. Although all this talk of swamps has made me crave something else…
Swamps and other things make up the earth. And you are part of the earth. And you play your part too. It’s not just a swamp, you see. You are not just a person, you see. We are all something special, no matter how big. No matter how small.
We have traveled to many places. We have traveled to so many places that often, we can’t remember even where we have been. But one thing will trigger a memory, a special feeling, smell or sight.
We all have to live our lives. We can’t just stare at swamps all day. I can’t just eat pancakes all day. But if we take the moments we can, and try to notice the little things, if only for a moment, we will be better for that. It’s ok to be cautious of things in nature.
That’s part of appreciation, as they are cautious of us. It’s when we try to see each other’s magic that the magic appears for us in our life. It’s not just a swamp. You aren’t just a person. Be the magical person you are and thank the things like the swamp for creating the life around you.
-Deputy Digby Pancake
