Wonder Whales of the Ohio

A Beating Well Worth It

Oh I took a beating for that day. I came back up from the river shoes, pants, and shirt ruined. I was soaking wet, covered in mud, and I was ecstatic. Well I was, until I seen the look on my step-grandmother's face. I'm surprised I wasn't murdered that very evening. To be honest, I'm not certain she didn't kill me a few times as the evening progressed. Oh, but the beatings were worth it. I wasn't simply some wayward kid from a bad upbringing with a crazed imagination. 

I sat on that muddy riverbank, heavy mixture of clay with a bit of sand and silt added to it just to make it gritty. Off on the west side of town away from the crowd but still a great view of the bridge.  The white clove of garlic barely shown through the murky waters. I waited and waited, thinking I must be a fool. I told myself: "Strange to think this is how the mind slips to insanity." One by one I gently tossed olives into the water. The plop had a sweet sound as I watched the gentle waves and current sweep on down passed the electric plant and those massive towers. 

Across the river on the Melton side sat a blue house nestled back into the hillside surrounded by trees. I thought what a view that would be wake up to. Then I realized it looked straight at the towers of the electric plant. I laughed as the irony caught me off guard. Then flashes of light from the waters edge caught my eye. Little shiner minnows were darting all over the shoreline. I was captivated by the tiny shining streaks zipping through the water. As their swimming became crazier and they even leapt out of the water I realized they weren't just swimming, they were trying to get away from something. 

As it slowly dawned on me, I looked to where I had tossed so many olives. There at the surface of the water, barely breaking through the waves, were three sets of those intense intelligent eyes I had long since forgotten starring at me. I grabbed the jar of over stuffed moochers and cautiously made my way right to the water's edge. 

I gently tossed a handful out to them as I sank into the silty mud. They didn't fight over them like dogs do over scraps. They would each take turns as the other two continued to watch me. They looked like huge tree trunks with shovel shaped jaws, just bobbing in the water staring at me. Thoughts of those nature shows watching crocs stalking gazelle at the watering hole, flashed through my mind. I was scared, I was more curious than scared even though I was visibly shaking. I had to try and touch one even if they simply drug me away beneath the current forever. 

I stepped deeper into the water while using the last of the olives to lure them closer. My mind screamed how many people disappeared in this very river every year. It didn't matter, my mind was settled. I just had to touch one, to feel it, even if it was the last think I did. So I ventured out waist deep in the water, where I could already feel the power of the current pull at me.