by Pastor Jesse Wilson
What a blessing to live in such a beautiful place. There really isn’t another place in the state that affords its residents with year round beauty!
Sure, Tampa has its sports teams, Orlando has its theme parks.
But life in the Everglades is an adventure all by itself.
In the mid 90’s there was a movie that starred Robin Williams. The movie was Jumanji, and Robin Williams character gets trapped in a board game he was playing as a young boy. Nearly three decades later, he is released when some new kids find the board game and decide to play it. What follows is a crazy adventure that has Elephants running through the house, large insects, monkeys, and even a lion. Each time something was about to happen, there was the sound of beating African drums.
I’m starting to think the movie was filmed in Florida. If you’re looking for an adventure, look no further, we have it all in our beautiful state. Where else can you experience life from the jungles of Africa right here in the Everglades? Want to see some crocodiles? Alligators? You won’t have to look far. A leisurely drive down Turner River Road just might let you see some of them. Or if you prefer a nice walk, there are a few boardwalks along 41 that are free to walk on and I’ve seen gators on all of them. The other day my wife and I were walking along a new boardwalk off of 41 just before Port of the Islands. When we got to the end of the boardwalk and stepped onto the gravel path, there to my right, less than a foot off the path, was a four and half foot gator!
Not the intimidating beast that my friend Carl Nicholson has wrestled back in the day, and definitely not the large ones back behind his house near his pond. Whenever I’m back there with him, he reminds me to run in a zigzag pattern if the beast living in his pond decides to have me for dinner. For some reason I don’t think Goliath, my name for the prehistoric beast living in his pond, could care too much how I run in stark terror. I have a feeling he would still catch me. The little gator just off the path I came across the other day didn’t seem to care for my company. I called to him a few times, using a gator call I heard Carl use before. But he didn’t even look at me. Which I thought was rude. Didn’t he know I wanted a better pic than the one I had already taken?
Photo by Jesse Wilson
A couple of feet beyond him, I spotted another one, much larger and hanging out in the water. He was a couple feet from shore and kept staring at me like I look at the ice cream beyond the glass at my favorite frozen yogurt shop. So, I thought it best to move along. No need for my wife to see me running for my life screaming like a little kid.
After telling Carl that I wanted to hunt a python with him, he called late one night. Him and his son had come across a 10 foot python just outside Everglades City.
I quickly jumped in my truck and rushed to Carl’s location.
Sure enough, when I pulled up there was Carl, holding the snake.
Then he gave me this odd smile and set the snake down on the road near me. He looked at me and calmly said “Go ahead Pastor, pick it up.”
I wish I could say that I rolled up my sleeves and man handled that thing. But I didn’t have long sleeves on that night. I also didn’t want to show them up, so I kindly referred the challenge back to Carl.
Carl apparently forgot that I fight devils, not snakes, I mean I am a pastor after all.
The only pastors I know who handle snakes live in the hills of West Virginia.
I live by the golden rule, I’m not talking about the one about treating folks nice, that is definitely important. I’m talking about the other one, the one I’m about to make up. Jesse’s golden rule is never handle snakes that are bigger than you. I’m a couple inches shy of six feet, the snake was ten feet long, so that means I can’t in good conscience pick up the snake.
I think Carl tried tempting me by reminding me that Wildman’s Pizza, Pasta and Pythons, owned by the area’s very own Dusty Crum, would give me a free pizza in exchange for a python. Talk about a low blow, Carl knows my weakness for food. But I didn’t fall for it, I know Wildman’s takes credit cards, nice try Carl!
Photo by Brittany Smallwood
If you ever want to see some of the Pythons that Dusty has caught, stop in and check out the gift store at Wildmans Pizza, Pasta and Pythons. You’ll be able to see up close some of the Pythons Dusty has caught. You can also check out his Python merch. Order a pizza, enjoy the store and you might catch Dusty walking around serving up some delicious pizza.
If Pythons and gators aren’t your thing, you can always drive over towards Orlando and check out Orange City. They have a monkey problem. Imagine sitting at the breakfast table, enjoying some eggs and bacon, looking at the birds in the trees, squirrels cracking open some sun flower seeds, and a monkey taking in the views.
Yes, this is real world Jumanji, you know it as Florida, but the locals know, its Jumanji. If you dont want to drive north of Orlando and yet want to see something other than the pythons, you could go looking for the Nile Monitors. Thats a nice name for what is known as dragons. Not the fire breathing ones we see in the movies, these dragons look like a Komodo Dragon but only grow to about 6 1/2 feet. Thats still not what I would want to run into out in the Everglades, but hey, we wouldn’t be like Jumanji if we didn’t have gators, crocs, pythons, dragons and the occasional rogue chicken running loose.
Besides all that, South Florida, particularly the Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress, is the coolest place to live. Whether you’re looking to take an Airboat ride at Everglades City Airboat Tours, or rent a scooter and explore on your own, the Everglades is a beautiful place to live and explore. So, the next time someone says they aren’t sure about this part of the state, remind them, it’s just Florida! If you listen closely, you might hear the faint beating of African drums!
