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<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">I group 2</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">Since the first two chapters of Merlyn the Magic Turtle have
already been<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>sent to the membership in
general, I’m sending the 3<sup>rd</sup>, as of yet, un submitted chapter. The
first 2 chapters are sent as attachments. You may comment on any or all of
these, but only the pasted chapter 3 version<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>is expected.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .75pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">
<p class="aolmailmsonormal" style="border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .75pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black">Have fun</span></p>
</div>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black"><br>
<br>
Merlyn Part Three</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">743 words </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">I had always enjoyed paddling through the swamps and islands in South Florida.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Whether on the east or west coast of the state, they were pretty much
the same. It was upsetting for me to see the changes that the dredging
operations were having on them. But right now, in the sixties, there is no
shortage of these mysterious, saltwater places where wild life was abundant.
Mangroves are the nurseries for huge populations of sea life.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was paddling through a series of narrow
canals and open water. Concentration was necessary if I didn’t want to get
lost.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Mangrove islands and thickets make
up one of natures most complex and beautiful mazes that grow along tidal
shores.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">Momentarily, my attention was distracted by an impressive white
ibis, landing atop the<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>mangrove tangle
twenty feet away.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Hey, you’re not listening,” Merlyn reprimanded. </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“I’m sorry. It’s difficult trying to navigate, watch what’s going
on around us, and listen to your story at the same time.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“I believe you,” he said sarcastically.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“You said you could walk and chew gum at the
same time. By the way, I think you just went off course.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“How would you know?” I asked.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Because I live here, Dummy.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“My name’s Leonard, not Dummy.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Okay, I apologize, Leonard.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>It’s just that I’ve been blathering to deaf ears for the last five
minutes. Maybe I should save the story till we get to your campground.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Good idea. Let’s stick to small talk until then. I really want to
listen with my full attention.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“You got a deal, Buddy,” he said good naturedly. “By the way,
Leonard, you’ll get us there faster if you cut around the left side of that
island.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Are you sure? I’ll be lost if I do that.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Do Mexicans eat tortillas? I’m the navigator. You’re the motor.
Okay?”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Okay, but if you get us lost, I’m going to have turtle soup for
dinner.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“That’s not funny,” he said, as I suppressed a laugh.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">On the rest of the journey, I learned that a turtle could be a
very annoying back-seat driver. Only in this case, it was a top-of-shoulder
driver. </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Point your bow ten degrees right. Not fifteen degrees. That’s
better. There's an oyster bank where you’re headed. It’ll cut your bottom to
ribbons. I wish you had a hat so I could get some shade.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He went on and on until I was really tempted
to throw him overboard and call it a day, but finally, our little voyage
reached his destination. I could see my car and pup tent perched on the packed
sandy surface of my campsite. </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“The next part of the ride might be a little rough on you, little
guy, I said. “ I’m going to have to do a lot of bending over and getting into
other positions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That’s going to make
shoulder riding hazardous.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Good point.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll stay in
the tent and leave you to your labors.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">I put Merlyn on top of the kayak, dragged it halfway up the sandy
beach, carried him to the tent, and said, “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Make
yourself at home.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Do you have any refreshments in a cooler or something?” he asked.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">As I walked back to the kayak, gathered up my equipment and stored
it in my car, I wondered where the turtle had gotten all his camp smarts and
other worldly information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I made a
third trip back to the water’s edge, swung the boat over my head and carried it
to my campsite.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then I grabbed my dry
ice cooler and dragged it into the tent.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Merlyn had crawled discretely into a corner to get out of my way.</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“What can I get you, my friend?” I asked</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“What kind of vegetables do you have?”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“There’s lettuce on tuna and rye.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“That sounds good,” he said, “I haven’t had a tuna sandwich for
years.”</span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">I thought about the absurdity of a turtle who used to eat tuna
fish sandwiches. I had to be dreaming. It turned out he was partial to carrots
and tomatoes, which he gorged himself on. </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">Afterwards, my new friend relieved himself outside the tent. I
settled down in a fabric camp chair and turned on my radio. I was a little
concerned that it might sound strange to a passerby to hear someone talking to
a turtle, and a little music would offer some degree of auditory privacy. </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="aolmailmsonormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black">“Okay,” Merlyn said, “Where did I leave off?”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
Group1 mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Group1@bluegrasspals.com">Group1@bluegrasspals.com</a></p>
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