Spring is in the air in Alabama. It certainly makes me think of how nice it was at ISS when the warm weather returned after a cold winter. I remember trips around the lake with everything blooming and wondering when we'd see the first hatch of baby turtles. I can remember as a sophomore my first spring at ISS as a boarding student, I learned to get down in the grass on my belly, like a solider creeping up on an enemy camp, and get right to the edge of the lake before the little green turtles would see me and make their dive early. Then, I'd spring into action and if I didn't catch them on the top of the water, as least just as they were submerging.
As we all knew, once they hit the mud, you could never find them. I dug up a lot of muddy bottom where I could have sworn the dived into, only to come up with nothing but handfuls of mud. I considered that I developed a special skill. As I remember some of our other classmates were better at reptile catching. I think Bob Watson would bring back a snake or two. I was not quite ready to determine if it was poisonous or not, and then quickly reach down and grab one of those suckers, but I thought they were neat in a jar or aquarium to watch. And who was the salamander specialist? I was told to look under every flat rock between the upper lake and the Administration building, and I did finally find one. I also remember picking one up and never forgetting the slime you get on your hands that just about won't come off. No, they were not my favorite creature either. Give me a turtle any day. Hey, how about some day student BUS STORIES! Who's got one or two?
We would never go close to the lake at night because of the "Monster" MOGAMBO!!. I think a relative of Grindle (Beowolf). You colud definitely hear his calls at night.