![\"Walking](\"https:\/\/beachbiscuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Walking-With-the-Dinosaurs-300x132.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI think every neighborhood has that “one” neighbor.\u00a0 The one that doesn’t socialize well with others.\u00a0 The one who is a crusty sort with a less than sunny disposition.\u00a0 The one with whom you never make eye contact in an effort to avoid uncomfortable encounters.\u00a0 The one who has ownership of several of your kid’s hit-over-the-fence balls because it was easier to buy new than attempt to get them back.\u00a0 The one never invited to block parties or barbeques or holiday gatherings. We have such a neighbor……<\/p>\n
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Our neighbor is a dinosaur.\u00a0 Ok, it\u2019s not exactly a dinosaur — but it is a very close living relative. Potay<\/em>to potah<\/em>to.\u00a0 This neighbor has prehistoric origins and is still alive and kicking today.\u00a0 And yes, I believe ‘neighbor’ would be the correct term for our living arrangement.\u00a0 This isn’t the wild, wild, wilderness or a swamp basin.\u00a0 This is a gated suburban swim\/tennis\/golf community with paved roads and well kept lawns.\u00a0 If you’ve taken up permanent residency here, you are essentially a neighbor.<\/p>\n I was aware that this creature lived here before moving to the area.\u00a0 What I did not anticipate was how I would react upon seeing it for the first time…. in person…. in a non-zoo environment.<\/p>\n I would love to tell you that I stood in absolute calm and wonderment over one of nature’s longest surviving beings.\u00a0 That I admired its beauty as it lazily floated, soaking up the morning sun.\u00a0 That I was intrigued by its history and pondered its place on this earth and our coexistence with them. But none of that happened.<\/p>\n As it shifted slightly in the water and faced my general direction, I was overcome with a case of the heebie-jeebies and the things that nightmares are made of.\u00a0 It looked like Godzilla and that was enough for me.\u00a0 My brain immediately began to reach far into its memory banks to replay and interpret every piece of information it had ever acquired regarding such an event.\u00a0 Data came quickly, although its usefulness was questionable.<\/p>\n MEMORY FILE 1:\u00a0 Run away in a zigzag pattern. MEMORY FILE 2:\u00a0 Make loud noises. MEMORY FILE 3:\u00a0 Stand your ground and look menacing. MEMORY FILE 4:\u00a0 Remain perfectly still as they cannot see well. What can I say; I was never a Girl Scout.\u00a0 Everything I know I learned from random television viewing.\u00a0 In the end I opted to snap a quick pic and then promptly head in the opposite direction of the beast.\u00a0 A \u201cbeast\u201d that was completely bored by my presence and basically ignored me.<\/p>\n I could probably learn a thing or two from that lizard\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I think every neighborhood has that “one” neighbor.\u00a0 The one that doesn’t socialize well with others.\u00a0 The one who is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWait, is that for alligators or bears?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThat may actually be for a moose encounter. Or coyote? Wolverine?<\/em>
\nWhat exactly IS a Wolverine? Hugh Jackman. Now that’s a talented and handsome fella\u2026 <\/em>
\nFocus woman! We’re trying to stay alive here!<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m fairly certain that doesn\u2019t work on anything.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThat little nugget is clearly from \u201cJurassic Park\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n