Florida Man Encounters an Iguana

First some background information. Iguanas are an invasive species, not native to Florida, but are known as pests. In fact, the government of Florida in 2018, was paying iguana hunters $5 to $6 per iguana. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also encourages landowners to kill them if they are seen on their property.

One of the respondents gave an exciting story about a wild iguana encounter. On a bright, normal Florida day, her dad spotted an iguana roaming around on their property. In response to how other people react when they find a rodent, he looked to get rid of it. Taking his gun in hand he chased after the iguana, firing shots at it. Eventually, the iguana took a hit, but it did not give up so easily. It ran into the pond on their property, hiding from its shooter. But, an unexpected third party decided to step in to remove the pest. An alligator, who, unknown to the family, was living in the pond, started to chase after the scrappy iguana, chasing it away from the land. Chomping at it, they swam out of sight. It is unknown to this day if the iguana has survived.

Florida Man Creates Redneck Amusement Ride After Hurricane

Florida is a hotspot for hurricanes. Located off the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, over 120 hurricanes have hit Florida over the last 150 years. Given that still, over 20 million people live there. With that many people, you are guaranteed to hear a good hurricane story from someone. Well, not exactly a hurricane story, one of our respondents shares an exciting moment after a hurricane. 

As it is well known, some Florida people are a little crazy. Living under the constant threat of their houses being destroyed by hurricanes, being slightly crazy seems like a reasonable response. Not only do they have to deal with the hurricane, but the floods that fill the streets long after the hurricanes have left. In an act of defiance to the challenges that nature throws their way, our respondent tells of one way that Floridians show that they won’t leave. Taking their trucks and a few adventurous folks, they wade out into the water for some fun. They tie their inner-tubes, which are often used for recreational relaxing in pools or lakes, and tie them to their tow hitches. With the package secured, the willing will climb into the inner-tube for their ride. Once the customary phrase of: “Please, keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times” had been said, they were off, driving their trucks, pulling people in inner tubes behind them for a little bit of crazy Floridan fun.

Florida Man Almost Gets Left Behind.

One respondent, Jesse Kyle, told us of a fishing trip that went wrong in all the wrong ways. As an avid fisherman, Jesse spends a lot of time outside with his dad and brother fishing. On one particular day, they went to a new fishing spot when the first thing went wrong. As they left the shore and proceeded to go out, Jesse’s dad realized he left his phone back on shore. They proceeded to head back, but the current had other thoughts. The current kept them from coming in as they fish from a small boat with a tiny motor that was not powerful enough to go against such a current. Once they retrieved the forgotten item, they headed back out. 

All was fine and was a nice, normal fishing day until the end when it took a turn for the worse. It became low tide and they were able to step out on the barnacles and get some last-minute fishing. When it was time to go, Jesse’s dad and brother got in the boat when his brother pulled up the anchor. The boat began to drift away from Jesse, threatening to leave him behind. Realizing this predicament, his dad told him to grab a hold of the rod. Reaching out, Jesse was only able to grab the tip before it snapped in half. Luckily Jesse was able to make it back in the boat, but not with the casualty of the broken rod. As they were heading home, Jesse’s brother’s rod got tangled in the mangroves they were driving through, and it became unusable. As they traveled along further, Jesse’s rod became tangled as well, worse than his brother, making his rod useless too. To make matters only worse, when they can see the shore at hand, the current moves against them, making the trip back to shore take over an hour. As Jesse describes it, “I think that was one of the worst fishing trips I have ever had!”

Brought to you by: Sara Navarrete

Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Is it the same as today?

A: I wanted to be a mermaid and to be honest that would be cool but I've retired my dream of fins. I plan to be a teacher now HAHAH

Q: What are you most excited about/looking forward to after you graduate? 

A: Probably just the change of scenery. College sounds super exciting!

Q: What is your favorite memory from your time here at Calvary Preparatory Academy?

A: This is actually a recent memory but the CPA Students for Life Club has been so awesome. I've gotten the chance to bond with my classmates on a much deeper level and it's been such a pleasure. 

Q: What current fact about yourself would most impress your five year old self? Why? 

A: The fact that I even made it this far HAHA. I dunno, I always sort of idolized "cool teenagers" when I was five, so I guess just the fact I am now one of them (not to toot my own horn) would impress my former kindergartener self. 

Q: What’s the most embarrassing Zoom moment you’ve had as a CPA student? 

A: Oh my goodness, I had to dance one time at game night for charades and no one got what I was acting out so I was stuck there dancing for way longer than I'd bargained for. 

Q: If you could choose one current CPA event or club to live on forever, what would it be?

A: I would say the Symposium. It's still a pretty new thing here but the two times it has happened, it was super special and really impactful. Also the ASB Leadership Team because those are my homies.

Q: What is the most important lesson your time here at CPA has taught you? 

A: I've learned the lesson of accountability time and time again. Before CPA I had been homeschooled without a whole lot of discipline so having teachers that weren't my parents to nudge me has been one of the greatest tools CPA has given me. In having other adult figures to keep me accountable, I like to think I've developed some of my own self-discipline. 

Q: What is one thing you want to tell your juniors before you leave the school?

A: Junior year is HARD. I commend all of you juniors. My advice would be to draw out schedules for your assignments and make goals to finish things by certain times. Also if you plan to take the SAT, do your best to allocate a decent amount of time to study for that. One last thing, take some time to RELAX, or else you'll be burnt out by your senior year *cough* (like me). 

Q: Has there been anyone, teacher or student, from CPA that has greatly impacted you? How so? 

A: Aw man so many people. But I can't list them all so I'm gonna say my homeroom teacher Dr. Van Wickle and my ASB teacher Mrs. White. These two have been by my side since middle school/freshman year and have been so good to me. Dr. Van Wickle really takes his time to diligently explains things I don't understand along with being very supportive and gracious. I really don't think I would have made it through biology, algebra, and honestly high school all together without him! Then we have Mrs. White who does SO much for this school. She's really the glue that holds us all together. She loves her ASB kiddos and we love her too!

Q: No question here, just a write in. This is your spotlight Seniors, give me one sentence that perfectly showcases how you want to be remembered :)

A: To be honest I have no clue- I hope to be remembered as that one cool girl who was a half decent DD Patrol Officer.