Old Joe – 2 Traveling Dogs

This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Digby Pancake agrees with that. However, he also agrees with persons who say that lunch is the most important meal of the day. And yes. He agrees with persons who think dinner is the deal.

So when Girl Person decided yesterday that she would rather go hiking at a state park more than moving our whole house, we decided to put that off for another day. Even though she said our breakfast may be a little late. And we headed to a place called Wakulla Springs State Park in this Florida place.

It didn’t take us very long to get there. But Digby and I were very excited as soon as we got there.

It was a new place.

The weather was freezing for this Florida place, and we had our crazy, breezy attitudes with us.

I wish we would have brought our breakfast with us too.

Because as we hiked, I could tell there was so much to see here. A pretty lodge.

There were boats with glass bottoms that people could ride to see manatees.

And there was an alligator named Old Joe. Old. Joe. Big Old Joe.

Dogs couldn’t go inside the lodge. But that was ok. Because thinking of Old Joe in there kinda made me sad.

Girl Person told us that Old Joe was so big. He was 11 feet long. Some said he was 300 years old! But he never harmed anyone.

Then one day, someone decided they should harm him. For no reason. No reason at all. And it was never found out who did it.

Old Joe’s life was taken away when he was just living. Just existing. And it made me think…who is more dangerous? Persons or animals?

Of course, animals like Old Joe should be respected by giving them their space. Letting them be.

And we have to be cautious because the earth doesn’t operate like it should and makes things out of order. But we should never forget that an alligator inside of a glass case once was happy. We should never forget he isn’t an attraction. He is now a lesson for us. The lesson that danger is in ignorance. And danger is in persons who think they have a right to harm others just because they can.

As we were thinking about Old Joe and admiring the springs and scenery of this Florida place, we realized that we had in fact missed breakfast. And we still had to drive home. The car couldn’t get there fast enough. In fact, we were so slow we missed lunch too. Yet, Digby knows that a foxhound stare can make a late lunch turn into an omelet. If you stare. And howl. And make your point known.

And Girl Person said she wouldn’t let us down. In memory of Old Joe who needed a lot of omelette to stroll thru the water and be the best alligator he could be, we had our eggies at 2 pm. And our dinner at 4 pm. Because we could. Because we wanted to. Learning about Old Joe was worth the wait for breakfast.

If you’re afraid of missing a meal, well, you should be. But don’t let fear keep you from seeing the beauty in all living things. Have you ever thought…they care for you too?