Friday, June 27, 2008

"Excuse Me, Ma'am, Are You Using Those Cranberries?”




Seahorses are creatures I know very little about. I do know they seem to stay alive longer when constantly immersed in an aqueous solution other than pickle brine, Coors beer or gasoline.

Don't ask...

It is my understanding that they are normally captured in the ocean, hence, the name seahorses, rather than pondhorses or the generic form, waterhorses. While I can't actually prove that seahorses aren't native to smaller bodies of water such as beaver ponds, reservoirs, etc., I think they prefer salt water, primarily. The reasons for this are unknown to me, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say it would most likely have something to do with chemistry or possibly biology.

In junior high, we didn't study seahorses much, maybe because I grew up in the Rocky Mountains. We had a lot of beaver ponds, but no real oceans to speak of, unless you include that gravel pit over by Lochbuie, which I always thought tasted kind of salty when I swallowed some. Myles Nuttall and I snuck in there often to swim. Myles was a year older than me and knew almost everything, since his father was in the Air Force. He assured me that if we got caught, we wouldn’t go to jail, although the same couldn't be said for our fathers.


I remember thinking that might be neat.

I dove down to see if I could touch the bottom, and I think I may have seen a waterhorse once, but it may have been just a piece of glass or duckweed or something, I'm not sure, the water was pretty murky. Plus, I had to concentrate on avoiding all those sunken barrels. Our parents tried to discourage us from swimming in there, since so many kids had drowned. That eight-foot fence around it was hard to climb, too, but that's another story. Personally, I think the warning signs they put up were just to keep us kids from having fun.


What exactly is hazardous waste, anyway?

10 comments:

Word Catalyst Magazine said...

Hey, welcome back! I thought you'd given up writing for sky diving or something more exciting. Love this and I think you can find the definition of hazardous waste under New Jersey somewhere!

kaylee said...

hazardous waste
same as our current
government.

Love this one

glad you are back
now
stay
sit

love klk

Anonymous said...

It's not true, is it?

I came to the conclusion before I reached the conclusion. I think that's extra-credit or something.

Tina Trivett said...

Well....that explains so much..hehe.

Welcome back mutant. :)

paisley said...

we have had four drownings in the last month around here,, and one of them was the nine year old niece of one of my customers... i know we all took chances as kids,, but dang.. when the young people start dying at the rate of 4 a month,, it is time to get out of the water....

and what kind of radio active refuse were they hiding in those barrels... did you ever find out??

Jo Janoski said...

You swam in hazardous waste? Oooooh, now I understand so much....

Scot said...

good one bob--

Anonymous said...

*laughing* I hope my boys don't carry on like this.

R.L. Bourges said...

that's why you glow in the dark, bubba. Now you know. (you're welcome)

Bubba said...

Shirley-- Thanks... writing is excitement enough for me, these days.

Kaylee-- Woof! *grin*

Amuirin-- Sadly, it is true... I never said I was the shiniest apple in the bushel.

Tina-- Yea, but this is just one arrow in an entire quiver that was emptied into me during my formative years. I didn't have a chance...

Paisley-- No, after the police escorted us home (the second time), I seem to recall a certain mother who *requested* that either said hazardous waste facility be moved elsewhere or she'd see to it that every city councilman in Aurora be replaced in upcoming elections... Poof! No more pond.

Paisley-- I don't think it was ever identified... and everyone was able to sleep at night.

Jo-- Duhhhh! *grin*

Scot-- Thanks, buddy.

Jo (to the second power)-- Oh, trust me, they will... better start praying right now, while there's still time. hee hee

Lee-- Belated 'thanks'.