For God's Sake, Don't Drink the Water!

Looks like the year 9595 is arriving ahead of schedule. Instead of “panic in the streets” we have teenage girls panicking because their cellular telephone stopped transmitting. According to a reliable source, girls at school actually become hysterical upon temporarily being excluded from the web - like adults who can't find the teevee remote but worse. Also there is a segment of society who cannot go anywhere without being directed by a satellite. GPS quits, they are helpless to advance. But that's all topped by a horrific tale of suffering related to me at the Lake Lily Art Show. A man and a woman kayaking on the Wekiva River when they - imagine how scary this would be – ran out of water. Of course I thought they meant the river suddenly dried up and they were stuck on the bottom. But that wasn't it. They were talking about the water in their little bottles. Well, they had foolishly prepared inadequately for the expedition and thirst
began to overtake them, gnawing at their throats, parching their very innards.

“It was really terrible,” they said, being out there with nothing to drink, probably at least a half mile from safety.

If this had been the Cleveland River I could sympathize but the Wekiva is a clear spring. When I visit Florida springs, I always enjoy drinking the water so I said, “I have to ask you something. Why didn't you drink the river?”

They paused for a moment like it was unfair of me to ask this most pertinent question. Then the woman claimed fear of alligators, which are not known to police the river vigilantly for unauthorized drinking. The man dismissed the alligator threat, then looked a little sheepish and alluded vaguely to the possibility of germs.

I would love to know how much thirst they would have allowed themselves before caving in and chancing natural water; or if they'd have just given up and died out there. Clearly these people are adapted to life inside the house but some vestigial instinct pushed them out into nature. It's still in their genes if not their brains.

On the subject of germs, that nasty horde always waiting to swarm up and take over the world, I recommend financial investment in Purell. Going to many businesses as I do selling my books, I am in the unique position to know that every single office out there has a big old bottle of that goo sitting on the counter. I don't know what forces inspired this revolution but I believe it is just for appearances. It's hard to imagine anyone but a German standing there and squirting some into his palms. If people do actually start to bathe every time they walk into a new office, then we will see some formidable germs arise, much like the antiseptic hospital setting that gave us Mersa.

So here it is, our great society which would rather publicly debate the policy on gays in the military or whether or not there should be a new basketball stadium than the shocking scandal that across this land people have lost their minds and their independence to the degree that they tend lawns but not gardens. PERHAPS IT NEEDS TO BE A HEADLINE. Here are a few suggestions:

FLORIDA TEENAGER FALLS INTO PIT OF DESPAIR WHEN CELLPHONE QUITS

FLORIDA DRIVER CAN'T READ A ROAD MAP

FLORIDIAN WON'T DRINK WATER WITHOUT A PLASTIC BOTTLE

FLORIDIANS SANITIZE THEMSELVES ALL DAY

FLORIDIANS GROW GRASS INSTEAD OF FOOD

FLORIDIANS WATCH TELEVISION OVER AND OVER AGAIN

FLORIDIANS SEEN WALKING ON TREADMILLS

Hey – how about this one?

FLORIDIAN SEEN BREATHING FRESH AIR -

Nah – too far fetched