Palm Trees

Another entry from my childhood storybook...

Our family of four spent many vacations in Florida visiting Grandmama and Grandaddy, my mom's parents. During the fourteen-hour drive we would listen to the country-accented, crazy comedy of Carl Hurley and Jerry Clower on tape. I learned more about coon-huntin' and the Ledbetter family than I ever wanted to know. I knew when we began spotting palm trees near the road that we were getting close to our sunny destination. My grandaddy is one of those people who has sung the same songs all his life, or at least for as long as I've known him. He sings little pieces of lines and songs, never the song in its entirety. We always heard him sing, "Hill and gully rider, hill and gully," and "It burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire," and "on blueberry hill."

In Florida our time was spent playing late night card games, enjoying Grandmama's delicious cooking, golfing, biking, and alligator hunting. That's right. Alligator hunting. My grandparents live near Lake Griffin. My brother and I would boldly mount our bikes and ride around the outskirts of the lake, searching with laser-like focus for eyeballs and long snouts peeping up from the water. When we spotted one it was like finding treasure. We would get so excited and start whispering different plans of action. We got the bright idea to throw rocks near the gators to see if they would follow the splashes. The would. One time my brother threw a rock and hit a gator in the center of its eyeball, much to the gator's dismay. One good decision we made was high-tailing it out of there when that happened. We waited at least an hour before returning.

Another time there was a gator hidden among some moss and lily pads near the shore and we didn't know. I was standing on the edge of the bank when big splashes erupted and shattered the silence. The gator was a few feet from me. Chris and I turned around and ran as fast as we could back to the house, leaving our bikes in the dust. Our heart rates took a full evening to slow back down.

On our last Florida vacation together as the four of us, Chris and I drove to the beach one evening and left Mom and Dad at home with the grandparents. We walked along the shore and watched the sunset. I remember trying to soak in every moment. I felt a little sad because I knew it wouldn't be just the two of us for much longer. I knew he would probably be getting married soon and starting his own family.

I love seeing palm trees. I see them and I see the risky adventures with my brother. I can still hear our breathless laughter after defying death once again.