Wildlife Is Beautiful (from afar).

I'm thinking back to a year or so ago when I was on vacation on Amelia Island, where the in-laws live just north of Jacksonville, Florida. I was walking comfortably down Atlantic Avenue to the beach, not a care in the world, and listening to The Hold Steady on the iPod. There is a small stretch on the way where you cross a small bridge over a very large marsh area (about 300 acres). It was at this time when I was shaken from my comfort zone. I'd heard stories of alligators being seen walking down the sidewalks of this little piece of paradise. It occurred to me that this was probably the sidewalk most likely to feel the feet of alligators. And my pace quickened.

I didn't see any alligators that day, I'm happy to say. There's a lot of city boy in me. I'd much rather face the dangers of fast buses and potential muggers than wildlife creatures like alligators, bears and snakes. My wife is vacationing on Amelia Island now and told me today that that marsh area just south of Atlantic Avenue is a popular greenway where people like to hike and get a bit closer to nature. Of course, there are sensible people who have concerns about alligators. Here's what the local paper has to say about that:

He said some people have expressed fear of alligators in the greenway, but the few of them that can be found there are docile and keep to themselves.

Guess what. That's not good enough for me. They say that there's always one in every crowd, and while that phrase is meant to refer to gatherings of humans, I bet it applies to alligators, too.