Well I guess I'm going from the land where foxes eat our chickens and deer eat our flowers and bounce off our cars to alligators hanging in the neighborhood and moving under the cover of darkness. I guess no matter where you go there's always someone that has something to complain about when it comes to wildlife.
But at times these gators can be aggressive and attack humans. In August of last year and 84 year-old man was attacked while out spreading mulch in his backyard in Sun City. In listening to the report it seems like his wife may have saved his life. I can tell you if that happened to me and Theresa was near....well...I'm a goner.
In August of 2022 a woman was attacked by an alligator while gardening in her backyard in Sun City. First responders found the gator guarding her dead body in the lagoon where he
dragged her back into. The woman was 88 years old so I don't know if it's an August thing or an 80's thing, either way it must be a thing. There were similar attacks in 2021 and 2019, but those didn't result in fatalities.
Wouldn't it just be me who would wind up posting, if it didn't kill me, that I was attacked by an alligator down in South Carolina?. Interestingly Sun City allows fishing in the lakes that are inside the bubble. I thought it might be a good place to air out some casts in between trips to the marsh looking for redfish. I hate to say it, but it's almost like I'm destined to be a victim. But I'm going prepared.
During one of our estate sales someone wanted to buy my machete. I had purchased it to help clear the brush in the back forty of the yard that gets overgrown. Just as I was about to seal the deal for the sale I thought of Sun City...and the gators, and figured it would be useful to protect myself or Luke, who might appear to be a chicken nugget on a string for a waiting large reptile. It'll be kept at the front door for those late night tinkles and walks around the new neighborhood.
And in recent Sun City, maybe alligator news, a post was made about a missing dog that occurred last evening at 18 Clairborne Court. Winnie is a very small and friendly Yorkshire Terrier.
I won't speculate as to what may have happened to Winnie but I have a sinking feeling. Winnie's house backs up to one of those alligator loving lagoons at Sun City. Not good. I hope the best for them.
Needless to say we are ready to put on our South Carolina caps on and get busy living our new life. The closing can't come fast enough but there's still work to be done. There's always more stuff around that needs to be packed then it looks. There's still a clean bill of health that is needed from the town to complete the sale. And one more appointment with the well water contractor who has to install two systems to meet or exceed New Jersey's and Hopewell's safe drinking water standards.
People have asked, "Are you retiring?", and the answer is "No". While we would like to we're too young and haven't done the right thing as far as financial planning, but I attribute that to life, and divorces, and blended families, getting in the way. That or we're just irresponsible financially, or a little of both. So we've secured some jobs down there, in what else, healthcare and nursing.
Theresa's all set with a gig at Medical Services of America which has an office a short distance of the house. The folks at Low Country Technical College nearly jumped through the phone when I circled back from my visit with them in January. Both are pretty much connected by property lines to Sun City.
While I would prefer a thoughtless job of picking up garbage or sticks, or something back fishing, like working for the local oyster company, Bluffton Oyster Company, setting up a little something-something in nursing just makes sense for now. We've laid out the rules already with our potential future employers. We'll be reverse sunbirds, summering in Cape May with the rest of the time in Sun City. And then there will be the traveling. Coming back to Jersey and Florida to see the kids, my siblings, and parents. Maybe a trip or two to the Adirondacks to see my sister, and maybe even yearly jaunts to Ireland. So we told them weekends are out, Monday's not so good, Thursdays and Fridays iffy, and Tuesdays and Wednesday's maybe. They were like, "Okay, when can you start?". Perfect.
Or maybe I'll get a job with an alligator removal company with a sub-station in Sun City. I can do patrols, respond to attacks, and gather them up like Steve Irwin of The Crocodile Hunter fame used to do. Can't you just picture me on the back of a 15 footer with my hands wrapped around
the powerful jaws of an alligator? Okay, better yet, maybe I'll just stick to nursing. Down in Sun City the jury is split on what to do with these prehistoric creatures and it's funny when someone posts like they did on the top of the page. Basically the get called "Karens" and then are eviscerated. Below is just one response;
I guess alligator lives matter down in the Lowcountry.