Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Monday, September 1, 2008

It's All About Lizards - Part I - The Lizard Behind the Painting

Well, I'm back home after spending two months in the islands. While I was there I wrote up a series of blogs, which I will now inflict on you, the gentle reader. So, for the next five posts it’s all about lizards.

I have always liked lizards. I think I was about six when I first became aware of them. At least that’s about the time of my first memory of a specific lizard.

We lived in a house in Cruz Bay on St. John called The Shell. On one wall was a painting. If one faced the painting to its left was a chaise lounge then an open doorway which led to the kitchen, bedrooms and bath. Over the doorway was a light.

A lizard lived behind the painting.

When Dad came home from work he would often spend the time before dinner stretched out the chaise reading or doing a cross word puzzle. There is no long twilight in the tropics, it gets dark very quickly once the sun goes down, so the light would be turned on.

It wasn’t long before the light had attracted a number of moths. It was then that the lizard, who lived behind the painting, would appear. Now he could have gone directly to the light from the painting, but he rarely did. He would walk down the wall, jump on the chaise and go across my father’s chest, then go up to the light to have a meal. When he was through, he would go back the way he came, crossing Dad’s chest to return to his home behind the painting. The lizard usually only went to the light when someone was in the chaise. He would cross anyone’s chest, but he seemed to prefer Dad.

Who can know what was going on in his lizard brain. Sometimes my sister and I would catch flies for him. He would eat them out of our fingers.

7 comments:

  1. That is so cool...like a "wild" family pet. Your parents are awesome!

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  2. Thanks Angela. Awesome is a great word to describe my parents.

    Do come back, there are more lizard tales to come.

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  3. Cute story. I love lizards, too - and for some reason we have zillions in our yard this year.

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  4. about 12 years ago, my hubby (boyfriend at the time) had to rescue me from, what I thought was a black snake in my bedroom. I jumped up on the bed, grabbed the phone, called him and was screaming like a baby...my hero came to rescue me...he bravely went toward the trash can in the corner of the room where I had last seen the horrible and HUGE (did I mention how big this thing was) black snake...He reached down, I just knew it was going to eat his arm...and he picks up...a little itty bitty Salamander...sigh

    I decided in that moment that: (1) I would marry this brave man if he ever asked and (2) Salamanders are kinda cute, so I let my son keep him as a pet...

    I'm a little less likely to scream in terror when I see a lizard of sorts anymore...If I see them first anyway...grin...

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  5. Sounds like part of the family. Did you guys ever give it a name?

    I love lizards, but unfortunately this is too cold of a climate for them to live. I have to go to tropical locales to enjoy them.

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  6. What a great story, Bish. I can't wait to read Part 2!

    And like Angela said, did you name him?

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  7. Adrienne, lizards are good in the yard, help keep down bugs.

    Funny story Brenda. It's not every day you find a boyfriend willing to rescue from a salamander!

    We did name the lizard, Angela, a unique name, a name that will go down in lizard history...his name was...Lizzy!

    Rena, part 2 is coming. There will be pictures too.

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