An Alligator’s Dinner Sitting in a Canoe

Several years ago, my wife and I were in Florida spending time with our family. We were really looking forward to an outing we had planned to the Everglades where we rented a couple of canoes to observe the alligators in their natural environment.

Before leaving basecamp, the rangers gave us instructions and a warning. They told us that we needed to respect the alligators and not get too close. As a father and grandfather, I appreciated these instructions and words of warning. I don’t know if our grandchildren realized how important they were, but I did and I was grateful for them.

My two sons, my daughter-in-law, my wife, and three grandchildren went first while I stayed behind with our youngest grandson. All went well and the group returned safely to greet their father and grandfather. I eagerly jumped into one of the canoes and, with my oldest son and his wife we began my journey around the swamp.

We paddled leisurely around the park, noticing the trees and vines and other things normally found in a swamp. We saw lots of alligators and some birds, but no other animals. We kept our eyes open for snakes and, while we never saw any, we felt their presence. It was a great experience for the three of us to be together in such a beautiful setting.

By now you are suspicious that I am going to share something exciting, or why would I be telling this story? You are right! The truth is, the canoe tipped over with an alligator less than fifty yards from us.

Native Americans, fur trappers, modern boy scouts, and countless others have used canoes to travel all over the world without tipping over. Doesn’t it make you wonder why two grown men (who were both Eagle Scouts) and a smart woman could tip this canoe over in the Everglades with an alligator so close? Obviously, the answer to this question is an important part of this story.

It all started when my son decided to poke fun at his father. He was teasing me about the alligator and he was trying to be funny when he said, “If we tip over Dad will scream like a girl!”

Now one of the most important facts of life that every son should know and if he doesn’t, he should learn this lesson about his father and that is FATHERS don’t like to be teased about their manhood. So, I responded (playfully, I might add), “Oh yeah! Watch this!” and then I gently rocked the canoe.

Unfortunately, this attempt to be funny was just as bad as my son’s attempt at humor only mine quickly turned into a dangerous situation as we capsized. We tried to remember our boy scout training on how to right an overturned canoe, but we didn't do so well and failed in our endeavors. Realizing the peril of the situation we did the most natural thing our family does when faced with uncomfortable situations, we started laughing.

As I think back on this experience, I believe our lives were saved from that alligator for three very important reasons: 1) the mishap occurred within a few hundred feet of the park rangers who saw what had happened and rescued us post haste; 2) the alligator was sleeping and didn’t notice the easy meal that was close; and 3) perhaps the most important reason, the alligator sitting on the bank just wasn’t hungry.

Obviously, the lack of wisdom and poor example from someone who was supposedly a responsible adult created a negative impression on the park rangers, my wife standing on the shore, and most importantly our grandchildren. From this experience I learned that we should not only warn and teach our children to recognize the “alligators” of life, but we also need to teach them how to protect themselves and others and avoid unnecessary danger.

This experience has also been a stark warning that a grandfather is never too old to learn that he needs to separate times for play and being funny from times to be serious and recognize the challenges in the environment.

That day in the swamp I did not set a very good example for my grandchildren, but today is a different day and I hope to do a better job. After all, that’s what resiliency is all about learning important lessons from our mistakes.

Today our world, not unlike the swamp, is filled with challenges and dangers as well as much beauty and opportunities for growth. I want to set the best example I can of doing my part to learn lessons from our past, to work hard to repair damage that has been done, and to love and appreciate the differences that make our world a beautiful place for all.

Happy Failing Forward,

Calvert Cazier

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