Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for February 07, 2017

Besides the real word for alternative facts is lies….The last time I rented a kayak at the Flamingo area of the Florida Everglades, the guy asked if I had a tide chart, I did, but I took his anyway, just in case I printed mine out wrong. I did… anyway, I joked that if I was dumb enough to get stuck out on the mud flats I’d just have to wait for the next high tide. He seemed surprised at my calm demeanor about such a prospect. Apparently, some guy got stuck out the day before and was on his cell phone demanding to be rescued. Seriously, you are dumb enough to get stuck out on low tide and you are going to freak out? Unless there is bad weather, it’s not going to happen, because nothing short of a helicopter is going to get to you, and really isn’t worth the expense. Just hunker down, take a nap, there will be another high tide. Just in case, he told me where to put the kayak….BTW, I did not miss my time table. When it comes to tides, it’s about the only time I use a watch with an alarm function when I’m on a vacation. Much as I’m sure I would be OK in such a situation, I’d much rather not end up there. Mostly as the mud flats of Florida Bay, there is no walking across them. You will sink, get stuck, then definitely need to be rescued before the next high tide. Never tried it, but there are some things best learned from the mistakes of others. ;)BTW, I rent kayaks when I venture down there, because it’s just too much of a pain in the butt to strap one on top of my truck camper. One of my favorite places, but there are so many to see… hopefully it will still be there when I can venture down again some winter…