Boating With Dr. Dolittle

Outdoors/Outside | Friendly | March 1, 2017

(My mother is a German teacher; every other year, a colleague from Germany who helps coordinate the student exchange program stays with my family for a few weeks in the early fall. My dad enjoys taking the colleague boating and to national parks on weekends, since Germany is more urban and has fewer animals.)

Colleague: *on the drive to the boat* “I should like to see a deer…”

(A few minutes later, one runs across the road, and my dad has to slam on the brakes, but they are okay and reach the lake. Later, on the boat…)

Colleague: “I should like to see an eagle!”

(One flies very close to the boat. Both guys are amazed, until it poops on the hand-scrubbed deck. My dad pauses, looks at the mess, at the colleague, then at the deep, freezing water.)

Dad: “Whatever you do, DON’T say ‘I should like to see a whale!’”

This story is part of the National Parks-themed roundup!