Once upon a time in a land far, far, away, a mystical land of Spanish moss, large ancient oaks, and sand between your toes, lived a little boy. Unusual even now in his adulthood is and was this man-child. Always, running and doing, the master of his own little universe. Of course most people would want to be king of the Earth, or ruler of a magical kingdom, but to this boy those ambitions were for small minded little thinkers. The point of adventure is, well, adventure! To gain control of all of your surroundings, to display them in ways that only you understand, and to laugh at the pretenders who only think that they are in control. Thus and so, we begin our story.
One day, as he always did in the summer, our hero left his royal abode with nothing to cover his royal feet. Not that he had no royal shoes to cover them, but though a king, he chose not to display his regality in common situations. Therefore, bare feet would be sufficient for the day, and so his adventure began.
Commonly, with dog at side, and perhaps a friendly royal subject to accompany him, his royalness would make his way to a place where his deepest desires could be met. What could be more wonderful than to ultimately taste delicacies that were only meant for those of his status? In royal realms, certain foods are to be considered appointed for those who could handle and appreciate their wonderful, almost heavenly allurement. That was the quest for the day, but with any quest there are always dangers.
The path to delight was not particularly rushed, or meant to be one that went strait for the prize, but rather a meandering excursion toward it's ultimate goal. Oh! Before I get to far-gone and you hate me for my unnecessary mysteriousness, the prize for the day, that wonderful delight was most deliciously a Dr. Pepper and a Zero bar. Now, not the corn syrupy sweet Pepper of today, but the super cold, bite your throat kind of Dr. Pepper that has passed into history, except for in a small town in Texas, Dublin by name, where they still keep the kings pleasure on hand. Need I even have to describe the shear beauty and aroma of a Zero bar, all covered in white chocolate, boldly embodied in nougat, and tastefully injected with the most mouth watering salty layer of caramel, that sweetly touches and clings to your lips after each bite. Just as ever bite was to be slowly savored, so was the path to obtain such a prize
Out the door went the boy with Shadow, his royal canine guardian, and on to find friend and foe on their journey. Passing them that day were all the things that delighted the boy, his highness. Outside his door the sweet smell of freshly bloomed Azaleas, which would find their most wonderful beauty at the time of a greater kings most wonderful victory, but that tale is for another day. Pink and purple and buzzing with bees that though delighted by the nectar in the flowers, seemed to find little boys even sweeter and the chase would be on. Off and going the boy and dog would race to evade these tiny and painful invaders, which thought nothing of authority and had not the least regard for their position or that of the king. They were fast, but the king was smarter, and wit always outlasts physical stamina. They kept pursuit and the boy remembered that to escape such an attack, run to the hottest part of a nearby field, where the humidity and heat of a Southern sun would soon displease the attackers enough that they would, for survival, end their pursuit.
After the escape, the boy and his companion continued their pace to a nearby stream which allowed the king to navigate his kingdom rarely detected and just so happened to whined it's ways toward the awaited treasure. Along the stream the boy and Shadow would take turns kicking up a spray of water to cool them from the hot day. In rainier times this would be a place where they would swim, without regard to the prospect of being eaten by alligator, or bitten by venomous snakes. On occasion they had seen both and even caught the later, but it was a danger that they chose to ignore, for the awaited prize was greater.
It goes without saying, that in certain parts of this wonderful body of liquid adventure, the boy would with the other princes and a few common subjects would playfully cast each other under the water, or cast a net or line. Fishing seemed to always be on the mind of the king, but that was for another day.
Slightly wet and perhaps smelling of sweat and dirty water the two forced their way toward their prize,
not realizing that the greatest of today's dangers lay ahead of them, and just within reach of the delight they sought. Without a doubt the adventure was outstanding that day, and to add more fun to the trip the boy had been collecting rare and valuable crystalline jewels along the way, which when he arrived at his destination, he would trade with the kindly merchant for the treasure which he had pursued from the moment he had awaken that day. How fortunate that his kingdom was laden with such a treasury of valuable items. Just for his picking! What his subjects thought to be waste and trash the king understood to be of greatest value, for that is what makes a king a king you know.
Out of the streambed and up the path and there it was! That place where all would be realized, all would be seen in the light of fortune, and all the perils of the day would be thought nothing in the presence of the prize. However, things never go that easily on an adventure. Do they?
Just to the side of the merchants store was a water spicket where two travelers could refresh themselves before the negotiation for said treasure would begin. The boy knowing the location swept behind the store to begin his clean up, and as dogs do, Shadow investigated the nearby trash bins. As alert as a king should be when something new entered his kingdom, the king discovered a rather large, immense actually, mound of loosely pack sand appearing to be two feet high and four feet round. This was just the right height for a massive statement of kingly authority. Contemplating this wonder, the king decided to investigate with all the valor he could royally exert, and so with both feet, the king jumped as high as he could stomping both feet into the newly discovered mound. Feet and legs injecting themselves into the soft loose sand all the way to his knees with excitement rushing through his body, the boy realized something was very wrong. Suddenly he felt the first one, then another, and they continued faster and stronger than he thought possible. You see what he had jump full force into was not a harmless mound of sand, but an extremely large colony of Southern fire ants, and they were not happy at this invasion into their kingdom. Violently they continued attacking the king until he escaped and immediately began to wash them of at the near by water hose. Thousands off ants had attacked at one time and the king was fortunate that he was familiar with how to deal with such an attack. So much for “ his kingly authority”! When it came to this other tiny kingdom within his own realm, he would now defer to peaceful coexistence.
Undeterred, he appraised his wounds, gathered his bartering items, and went inside to the merchant. The prize awaited and after this hard day, he could use the sweet enjoyment that it would bring. Cold and wonderful was all he could think of as he paid for his delights and left the store. Outside he sat and remembered all the days events, cherished his reward still filling the pain of this misfortune, and amazed himself on how good it was to be the King.
