What I Saw At The Beach
I saw a dragon flying up the beach this afternoon. Some may think I’m making this up or that I must be nuts.
The only reason I bring this up is to explain why I am sure that I am not crazy. Back in ‘65, I joined the army, as many of my friends had done. There was a war where the southern part of this country had decided that they wanted to be their own country and the northerners decided that it would be better to completely destroy the south then to have it be it’s own country.
Well, my experience as a solder was a short one. I arrived at the regimental headquarters at about 6 in the afternoon and at eight I was in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. I was sitting by the kitchen tent cleaning the new rifle I was issued when a guy about fifty feet to my left thought he was being funny and aimed his rifle at a water bag hanging nearby. Well it was loaded and went off when this guy “accidentally” pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off a cast iron frying pan, passed clean through the water bag and hit me right behind my right ear. I woke up about dawn with the most extreme headache and I was not able to move my left hand or leg. The surgeon explained to me that I had been shot, but the bullet had hit so many things before it hit me that it had flattened out and just barely penetrated my skull. The good news was that the damage was minimal to my brain and that most, if not all the use of my arm and leg would return, hopefully. The bad news was that first, they had decided to leave the bullet in my head. To remove it might cause more damage and it was best to just leave it where it was. Secondly, the war, for me was over. One day! And I wasn’t even shot by an enemy solder. I was home exactly four day from when I had left.
That was nearly forty years ago. The war ended. The north won to my disappointment, and the country is again reunified. I still have terrible headaches and I see crossed eyed when I get really tired, or drunk. The bullet is still there and I use it as a bar gag to get free drinks. I bet people that they can see the bullet in my head and they gladly buy me drinks for the privilege. Sometimes quite a few drinks.
But I wasn’t tired or drunk when I saw the dragon flying up the beach this afternoon. I was out pulling crab lines along the tidal pools about a mile from town. At first I didn’t hear anything. I just sensed a shadow passing overhead. When I looked up there it was. A hideous sight to be sure. Dark brown and glowing in the bright sunshine. It had two wings about forty feet wide, one on top of the other. Just as it passed me I heard it growl. A low whiny growl like the noise from an injured cat. And, then it was gone. Over the dunes and out of sight.
I hurried as fast as I could to town and went directly to the Sheriff’s office to report what I had seen. A large crowd had gathered in front of the office, so I assumed that I must not have been the only one to see the monster. As I drew closer, I could hear that the Sheriff was making an announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great honor to welcome Misters Orville and Wilbur Wright to Kittyhawk.”
I saw a dragon flying up the beach this afternoon. Some may think I’m making this up or that I must be nuts.
The only reason I bring this up is to explain why I am sure that I am not crazy. Back in ‘65, I joined the army, as many of my friends had done. There was a war where the southern part of this country had decided that they wanted to be their own country and the northerners decided that it would be better to completely destroy the south then to have it be it’s own country.
Well, my experience as a solder was a short one. I arrived at the regimental headquarters at about 6 in the afternoon and at eight I was in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. I was sitting by the kitchen tent cleaning the new rifle I was issued when a guy about fifty feet to my left thought he was being funny and aimed his rifle at a water bag hanging nearby. Well it was loaded and went off when this guy “accidentally” pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off a cast iron frying pan, passed clean through the water bag and hit me right behind my right ear. I woke up about dawn with the most extreme headache and I was not able to move my left hand or leg. The surgeon explained to me that I had been shot, but the bullet had hit so many things before it hit me that it had flattened out and just barely penetrated my skull. The good news was that the damage was minimal to my brain and that most, if not all the use of my arm and leg would return, hopefully. The bad news was that first, they had decided to leave the bullet in my head. To remove it might cause more damage and it was best to just leave it where it was. Secondly, the war, for me was over. One day! And I wasn’t even shot by an enemy solder. I was home exactly four day from when I had left.
That was nearly forty years ago. The war ended. The north won to my disappointment, and the country is again reunified. I still have terrible headaches and I see crossed eyed when I get really tired, or drunk. The bullet is still there and I use it as a bar gag to get free drinks. I bet people that they can see the bullet in my head and they gladly buy me drinks for the privilege. Sometimes quite a few drinks.
But I wasn’t tired or drunk when I saw the dragon flying up the beach this afternoon. I was out pulling crab lines along the tidal pools about a mile from town. At first I didn’t hear anything. I just sensed a shadow passing overhead. When I looked up there it was. A hideous sight to be sure. Dark brown and glowing in the bright sunshine. It had two wings about forty feet wide, one on top of the other. Just as it passed me I heard it growl. A low whiny growl like the noise from an injured cat. And, then it was gone. Over the dunes and out of sight.
I hurried as fast as I could to town and went directly to the Sheriff’s office to report what I had seen. A large crowd had gathered in front of the office, so I assumed that I must not have been the only one to see the monster. As I drew closer, I could hear that the Sheriff was making an announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great honor to welcome Misters Orville and Wilbur Wright to Kittyhawk.”
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