The night Samantha brought home an iguana, I was flabbergasted. It didn't surprise me so much that she brought home the reptile itself, but that she was holding it with her bare hands. She had won it at a school carnival in one of those games where you throw a ping pong ball into little bowls of goldfish. If your ball lands in the bowl, you're supposed to win a goldfish, not an Iguana. The man who ran the goldfish toss said she could have the iguana that was on display instead of the fish. And he handed it to her without a box, a bag or a carrier to hold it in. She carried it through the carnival just as naturally as you would carry a tiny puppy in your hands. Oh the salmonella, the Ecoli risk!!!
The plan was that I was supposed to pick her up, along with her girlfriends at 9 p.m. She called to tell her Dad they were ready for pick up and told him about the long green creature in her hands. My hub is not at all fazed by these things; snakes and other reptiles are fascinating to him, not me. He's owned more than a few snakes in his time and passed his love of all reptiles great and small on to his daughter. I love living things too, but I'm not so much into snakes and other slimy creatures. Needless to say, I've never interfered in the way they share admiration for these things. So it's not that surprising that he "neglected" to tell me of her newly found prize when he told me she was ready to be picked up, and then went back to his nap on the couch.
When I drove up that night, I thought she had found the iguana on the grounds of the school and wanted to keep it. From inside the car I locked the car doors and kept the windows up. I stared at her in amazement. "Samantha Middle Name Last Name. YOU PUT THAT THING BACK!" There was a pond near the parking lot, I figured she found it near there. She stared back at me with a big grin on her face. No, she was not putting it back. "Mommy! I won it! I didn't find it!!"
Well, I had no intention of driving home with a loose iguana in the car, and the whole thing made my stomach turn. Three of her girlfriends were standing away from her at an arm and a leg's distance. When they heard the argument that ensued, they moved back another foot or two.
Sam stood her ground, she was not letting it go. He could have been killed, after all, if she let it go at the fair. Ignorant kids or people could hurt it.
A line of cars began to form behind me at the parent pick up circle. I gave in, and let her get in the car.
In the front seat, holding it with her bare hands.
Her girlfriends sat in the back seat, looking fairly squeamish.
She was pleased as punch.
I drove home looking sideways at the thing. In all the years we've had Samantha, she's never ceased to surprise me with her generosity for creatures of all types. I've seen her wade through a sandbar with a girlfriend to catch a stranded seagull, hold it firmly in her arms and bring it back to her dad on the boat so that he could get the pliers and remove the hook and mono-filament from the bird's mouth. Ever pick up an injured bird?
They put up a good fight, with flapping wings and snapping beak. This one was no match for her compassion. I've turned the car around on the way to the grocery store at her insistence, because she saw a pair of baby blackbird in the middle of the road.. he had fallen from his nest. We put him near the tree for the mother bird, but when he was still there when we got back from the store, we took them to the sea bird sanctuary nearby.
At the moment our pool is leaking and turning green, but until the leak is fixed, she wont let me put the chemicals in until she takes all the tadpoles out. She has spent summers at the marine aquarium camps, snorkeling and learning about marine life. She wants to work with tigers, whether it's feasible or not. She is extremely intelligent; deciding on a college major is still an undecided option...a wide open road at this point in time.
Whatever she will do in this life, I do know one thing for sure, there is no limit to what her heart will offer to another living being. That capacity to love, to care and to give is what makes me most proudest of all. Happy 17th Birthday Samantha Rae. We love you very, very much. :)
I have been particularly "blessed" so far that my kids are not really into animals that much.
While I would love it if they had my passion for animals, I also am not dealing with what my parents did, mainly 14,000 animals in the house at all times. My parents were great, they always went out and just bought one more cage and one more guidebook.
Posted by: idgie | September 25, 2005 at 12:55 PM
Our 23-year-old daughter works for the Humane Society, has her ap. in for a job at a Seattle zoo. She majored in zoology with the specific idea in mind to work for a zoo. I'm sure she'll make it, because she, too, digs iguanas and other creepy crawlies that send shivers up your spine, and mine.
Posted by: Old Horsetail Snake | September 25, 2005 at 12:56 PM
Too much like a snake for me, but I admire those who talk to ALL the animals, even the slimy ones ;) Happy birthday Sam!
Posted by: poopie | September 25, 2005 at 03:51 PM
VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU!!!!!! I hope your day is a goodie!
I think it's great that she is so loving and compassionate to all God's creatures. Bless her heart!
Posted by: Jamie Dawn | September 25, 2005 at 04:38 PM
BTW, we both have 17 year old daughters. Very cool!
Posted by: Jamie Dawn | September 25, 2005 at 04:39 PM
Two of my children have this kind of love for all animals too, and it makes me proud as heck! My son found an iguana on our deck about 10 years ago; it no doubt was someone's pet who escaped. He couldn't trap it and we were worried that the iguana would die if he wasn't found before cold weather set in. We never did find out what happened to it.
Posted by: kenju | September 25, 2005 at 05:21 PM
Happy Birthday Samantha
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Aunt Evelyn
Posted by: Evelyn Colbert | September 25, 2005 at 05:38 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMANTHA, from all of us...Spurlocks, McGowans..folks from Miami. I wish you at least 90 more happy birthdays.
Hugs,
Sue
Posted by: Sue | September 25, 2005 at 05:39 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMANTHA, from all of us...Spurlocks, McGowans..folks from Miami. I wish you at least 90 more happy birthdays.
Hugs,
Sue
Posted by: Sue | September 25, 2005 at 05:40 PM
Happy Birthday Samantha!
Best wishes and many blessings in your house of reptiles. I prefer snakes and frogs myself. Turtles are the best. (I stop the car and saved a few around here.) Come over anytime Sam and find any critter you want in our lake and take it home. I just hope mommie will still be my friend. (giggle)
Hugs from this side of the coast!
Michele Spurlock-McGowan
Posted by: Michele Spurlock-McGowan | September 25, 2005 at 05:46 PM
Happy Birthday Samantha!!! We hope you are having a wonderful day. Seems just like yesterday that I was visiting your mom and dad, and you were 2 years old and running naked down that dirt road going towards the lake that you and your mom and dad lived on in Hawthorne. What a nice young lady you have grown up to be. Hugs, Laurie,Kevin,Sean and Daniel too.
Posted by: Laurie | September 25, 2005 at 06:01 PM
Happy Birthday Samantha!!! We hope you are having a wonderful day. Seems just like yesterday that I was visiting your mom and dad, and you were 2 years old and running naked down that dirt road going towards the lake that you and your mom and dad lived on in Hawthorne. What a nice young lady you have grown up to be. Hugs, Laurie,Kevin,Sean and Daniel too.
Posted by: Laurie | September 25, 2005 at 06:03 PM
Laura and Rick, you deserve a lot of credit for raising such a great girl!
Posted by: Laurie | September 25, 2005 at 06:07 PM
Happy BD young lady...You got a good ma, and a good dad, too I be thinkin'.
Posted by: steelcowboy | September 25, 2005 at 08:06 PM
Wow 17 - Happy Birthday Samantha -to a kindred spirit! I too have had a fondness for the slimy creatures. Ask you mom about or "zoo" in S. Miami; turtles,snakes, lizards & iguanas etc. We charged the kids in the neighborhood 5 cents to see them. I love your Moms description of who you have become, it is accurate, We are proud of you & love you a bunch, Jeff, Karen,Jessica & Justin (oh & little Darleena)
Posted by: Uncle Jeff | September 25, 2005 at 08:28 PM
what can i say? i have a soft side for living things.. except spiders, and roaches, and mosquitoes. lol.
Thank you everybody. =)
Posted by: Sammie | September 25, 2005 at 08:49 PM
Wow!!! 17, it's time for that new car. Or how about the new I-Pod. Still have that photo holding you in front of that Corvette I use to have. That was some black hair you had. Tell your dad go Phins! And tell your mom the Buc's _ _ _ _ !
Take care Paul
Posted by: Mr Paul | September 25, 2005 at 08:55 PM
Happy birthday, Samantha! :)
I'm a little like you in that I'll pull over to rescue cats, dogs, and birds, but I don't know about reptiles -- although I get it. When you have a love of something living, you won't let anything stand in your way. Just know that there are others who are more squimish when it comes to cold-blooded creatures, okay? It doesn't mean they don't appreciate your big heart, it just means the animal makes them uncomfortable.
I agree on the spiders, too. I was bitten by one a couple of months ago, and it wasn't fun.
Posted by: FTS | September 25, 2005 at 09:04 PM
Thank you all, Sam really enjoyed reading through these comments!
Except for Pauls...pfft. Have you seen our new CADILLAC???? Our #1 Defense will be waiting on Oct 16. BAHAHHAHAHHA!
new car, my arse. pfft by the way Paul, I still have that pict of you holding Samantha with your corvette in the background.
Michelle, that was so nice of you to offer up critters from your lake. I'm going to make sure they get left behind in your garage :)))). Or maybe i'll have her put them in a container and give them to Scoop. ;)
Jeff, don't forget Tommy Walker and his wild,roaming monkeys. They used to scare me something awful when i'd come up the front steps and find them sitting on top of the air conditioner.
Laurie, thank youuuuuuuuuu! Want to take a trip back to the lake sometime? lol ;)
FTS, that was a real nasty spider bite you had, that's for sure.
Jamie, I didn't know Courtney was 17, she seems so much older on her website! I really enjoy her site, she's a good writer.
Kenju, I didn't know they lived that far north. Sounds like he must have escaped from someone's cage?.. could be.
Aunt Evelyn, that's one of our favorite old Irish poems. ;)
Posted by: Laura | September 26, 2005 at 07:30 AM
I just loved reading about your compassion for animals of all descriptions Samantha. The world would be a better place if there were more like you. Happy Birthday and a bunch of tail wags from the Buffledog!
Posted by: Seamus | September 26, 2005 at 09:58 AM