Better than rubber

Yesterday was made memorable with a short walk around Sandsprit Park in the southerly Stuart, FL, environs. The park at one time was known as a hermit crab habitat, but wooden docks and railings now ring the perimeter, leaving a few sandy shoreline areas free to engage the creatures of the Indian River Lagoon.

Many large boat trailers were parked in a special lot just for them, and boats could be seen cruising the open waters to and from the pictoresque boat ramp. A rather snippy couple with a rolling gait and hair that appeared to be dyed matched (to some extent) the photo likeness of a man and a woman missing from Hilton Head Island in North Carolina, such notice published in the local newspaper. And, a large flock of crows descended into the park, peering out over the water as if a dead human body was surfacing (to be more specific, known behavior near drowned delicatessan workers).

A group of young squirrels mourned an elder which had expired in the hub-bub of summertime vacations and military claim, pelt lying bloody upon a street some distance away days earlier. A diving bird scored a live silver fish as large as himself, expertly filleting the catch and leaving skin/bones for much-larger pelican flock to quarrel over. Another fish, dead in the sand, had been similarly dispatched, leaving mostly head and tail intact.

Flashback to the ubiquitous "rubber ducky" given to many young children: now made from vinyl in modern times, the toy does not deteriorate and instead becomes as hard as a rock over a time period of decades losing its 'squeak' sound but not its distinctive chemical scent. There are a lot of uses for the improved duck-toy composition, including decoy or affinity knick-knack; a child more easily and accurately recalls his/her childhood from memory.