All creatures big and small
Lane and I have back-to-back birthdays, that’s like consecutive. Mine’s the 9th and hers is the 10th of September. We don’t care too much for material things; we just like to do something special. This year Lane wanted to go to The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, have a nice lunch and go on the river boat ride.
The Lodge was built by Ed Ball of the St. Joe Company in the 1930s. See “Green Empire: The St. Joe. Company and the Remaking of Florida’s Panhandle” for more information.
The Spring is the home of one of my favorite creatures, the one from the “Black Lagoon.” Yes, when I was a young lad, maybe age 5 or 6, my cousin, a girl, was in the circus at FSU. She was dating the actual Creature. So, I was thinking, “If my cousin marries the Creature, won’t I be the coolest kid in town?” Too bad, that didn’t happen, but I have always had an affinity for him. Now, the Creature or “Gill Man” (no relation) was Ricou Browning who went on to create the Flipper series.
So, what was the creature, was he a fish? I consulted an ichthyologist and learned there is a walking catfish native to Florida that can stay out of water for 30 hours. I’ve never seen one.
Was he a reptile like an alligator? According to a herpetologist I consulted, he wasn’t.
Alas, the Creature was a piscine amphibious humanoid. They have appeared in literature and many myths and legends throughout history.
The movie is a tale of an expedition of scientists who go to the Black Lagoon in search of a creature. According to a crusty boat captain, “The Black Lagoon is a paradise from which no one has ever returned.” So, they invade the paradise where the Creature lives and attack him. The Creature falls in love with a beautiful scientist, Kay, and when he tries to whisk her away, they shoot him and the last scene he is sadly drifting into the abyss of the Lagoon leaving the viewer to question if he actually dies. My thought is he still lurks below the depths. Pretty sad story in my opinion.
Now comes movie director Guillermo del Toro who has always been fascinated with Creature and seeks a remake. The result is “The Shape of Water.” The story focused more on the Creature’s viewpoint while also letting him have a successful romantic liaison. The film is a beautiful take on a love story in which marginalized people find power, strength, and love, while for others, the film leaves them questioning their own place and humanity in the eyes of society.
I had a herpetologist from the Bronx Zoo on “Lily” for a river cruise who explained that a reptile will respond to a human based on its experience. I have been in Apalach 26 years and I know of no human being attacked by an alligator. They are protected in our 246,000-acre Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. According to the gentleman they only react when their habitat is threatened, such as building a theme park or a golf course in their swamp. Have you ever heard of Indians having trouble with alligators?
We are all like the Creature, we just want a little love and compassion and please don’t move in and try to harm us and invade our habitat.
By the way, I asked the herpetologist, “How can you tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?” He explained, “It depends on whether he sees you later or after a while.”
See y’all later.
Your friend,
Capt. Gill
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.