He stopped breathing so he could listen better, and sure enough, that low, rumbling growl pierced the night again.  "Aw, shucks!" he said to his stomach, "I'll feed you just as soon as I can find civilization again."  His eyes searched what seemed to be miles ahead and spotted a faint yellow glow.

As his tumbling seemed never ending, it did though with a large splash. Dazed and disoriented and with water rushing past his head he thought that it might have been better to stay on the tracks and meet the train head on. As he didn't want to leave this world with water in his lungs. Within seconds he regained his composure and started fighting the water. Only to find that he could touch bottom, it was only about three foot deep. 

The clouds had finally parted and a bright, full moon reflected on the eyes amongst the trees along the bank.  He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw.  Inaudible, even to himself, he whispered "Wolves!"

He heard giggles coming from the bushes and little hands clapping.  Someone with a very high-pitched voice said, "Oh, goody, here comes thecanoe with Dorothy and Toto.  Now we Munchkins can head for the Emerald City."

Upon further investigation, he discovered mosquitoes all around him.  He quickly hailed the canoe and asked to join them on their journey.

Laughing their heads off at the slapstick they'd just witnessed, the Munchkins plunged in to haul the girl, the dog, the boat and the coughing, sputtering man to shore.  And that's where he awoke, shivering and alone, just as the sun climbed the back of the mountain and shoved its face through the trees at the top.

The stream carried the canoe as the waters rushed fast by the shore, too fast for him to control the direction.  The water flow was speeding faster and faster as it neared what looked like the end of the stream that stopped in mid air without anything beyond.

a peaceful blue lagoon surrounded by weeping willows filled with the most beautiful tropical birds.  Funny, he thought to himself, willows are unusual in the tropics.

While carefully looking around to get his bearings, he spotted a nubile vision standing on the beach of the lagoon.  There was a young Brooke Shields, clad only in her bikini, beckoning to him to join her ashore.  Now if he were dreaming, he never wanted to wake up!!  But as he started making his way to shore.............

Kirk squinted into the sun and yelled, "Bones, is that you?!  Hurry!  Spock is still in the water and I just saw a Great White out there with jaws the size of a shuttle craft."  The man quickened his pace, just in case he really was "Bones."

He rubbed the knot on his head as the tracks, train, river, canoe, mosquitoes, frozen waterfall, blue lagoon, Brooke Shields, Munchkins and Captain Kirk tumbled around in his mind.  His stomach growled at about 10 decibels.  "Must be starvation delirium," he laughed.

Then he heard it....that ominous sound:  TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK.  It was the crocodile from Never-never Land, smacking his lips in anticipation of another bite of delicious pirate flesh.  "No, no," he screamed, scrambling back up on the sand bar, "you've got it all wrong, I'm not Captain Hook."

I thank you all so graciously, Gene, Noah, Sheila, Ron and Kay. You've saved my life by not letting me starve to death. He started to feel his body become so at ease as he became relaxed from the food and warmth. Slowly nodding his head he drifted off to sleep for only a few moments, suddenly awakened by the strange sound once again, the growling of hunger pains he felt once more, then realizing the food he had eaten and Gene, Noah, Sheila, Ron and Kay were only a dream. He looked around for a few moments then screamed, "I feel like I'm dying!"

He was in a deep sleep when all of a sudden a humming noise awoke him and lights were flashing in his eyes.  His eyelids were heavy, but hetried to keep his eyes open enough to determine what the big purple-blob with the bright light intended to do.  "Oh, no that purple-blob is in a saucer-shaped vehicle......and he is carrying a black bag," he thought.

....realized that the black bag resting on his belly belonged to the doctor who was peering into his eyes with a tiny flashlight.  As the roar in his ears began to fade, he heard, "... wonder who he is? ... Big Creek Owl on his tee shirt ... rock slide blocking the tracks ... pretty bad lump on his head ... carrying no identification ... no broken bones, at least ... looks like he's coming back around."  He tried to sit up to see the faces that went with the voices, but the doctor pushed him back with, "Easy fellow, you've taken a nasty blow -- what's your name?"

His head was spinning trying to remember who he was. Who am I? Who was this doctor in a green and white suit? He thought that was strange for a doctor to wear such clothes. That is until he remembered what was sticking out of his pocket.

... with his head still spinning, he pondered upon on the question once more.  Nothing! ......Where am I? ............ "What can be happening to me?"  ..............Why can't I remember?  Wait a minute!  There's a  major flaw in this picture! ......... I'm a girl, not a boy! .......... Suddenly hundreds of Big Creek Owls were soaring over her head!  ........It was as though struck by a bolt of lightening.   She leaped up and exclaimed,  "I have a date with an angel!" ... Will it be at our beloved Pipestem ... or on a cruise to Bermuda or Canada?  or ....and who is this angel? .... Help me!

After all that talking Glenda felt parched so she toodled off to Cecile's for a can of Blue Ribbon and a pickled pigs knuckle, on the way there Big Wes's white hearse ran her off the road and she got hung up in the ditch. Not one to give up she commenced to hitch hiking at which time Red Carrol came by in his garbage truck and kindly offered her a ride...

But Red had left the cell phone in the Motorhome left at the Condo.  So Red pulled over to the side of the road and sent up smoke signals from the trash dump where the embers were still burning.  Unfortunately, no one else could read the smoke signals that Red sent up into the clouds!

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Glenda was finishing up her 3rd Blue Ribbon at Cecils--smoke signals can be like party-lines sometimes you know.  Just as she was about to ask for another, in came a big ole burly feller from the head of Bearwallow named Jr. Listening to Glenda's pitiful story he said, "I'll tell ya what I'm going to do". Glenda was leaving the bar on Jr.'s arm with a six pack of Blue Ribbon and a 1963 Big Creek Yearbook under her arm when....