Suzanne's "logo" was--and remains, as you see in this photo of her and a freind, Lee--always a beautiful flower in her hair.
RETIREMENT (thus far)
By Suzzane Theriault
Retirement seemed to come at the right
time since shortly after the big day my apartment ceiling caved in. Management offered me a sweet deal on the new
lease: no rent increase. Falling
plaster, wet walls and green, blue, and black mold were mine for free. Such
generosity! No thanks.
Except for the moving part, things were
looking up. I ended up in a place on
Butcher Penn Creek. Surrounded by trees
dripping in Spanish moss, it looks like a scene from Florida’s past. Blanding Boulevard is down the street, but you’d
never know it from the view off my private balcony.
Canadian geese, great blue herons, egrets
and pink spoonbills come and go all day while at night I’m serenaded by the
most melodious frogs in existence, at least during mating season. I was as excited as a person who’d never seen
a bird or heard a frog before. That was
because I actually never saw a bird or even a tadpole before. But, the best visitors are the swimming
kind. I’ve seen manatees, nutrias, and
things I can’t quite describe. This
place is truly alligator alley.
Besides one great egret, the only other
permanent resident was Wilbur, a four-foot baby alligator who always had a
little turtle trailing him from behind.
Wilbur’s right eye was missing and his left leg was only a stump. I would describe him as both gruesome and
fascinating.
When my neighbor (who was feeding him)
moved away, Wilbur also moved on. But
every now and then he stops by to say hi, or to see if there’s a tasty dog or
cat around. Here kitty, kitty.
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