Are You Smarter Than A Flying Gator? (8 page)

“I'd love to do that. I know the kids would be thrilled.”

“Uh, one more thing, Governor.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“I've heard that many people have figured out some pattern for the five locations Gator Mikey flew over after he left Siesta Key. Do you know what it is?”

“I think so, Sir.”

“Don't tell me the answer ... but maybe you can give me a little hint.”

“All right. Let's see. Five locations, five letters, one reptile.”

“Five locations, five letters, one reptile?”

“Yes.”

“I've got it. I'll call you tomorrow. Good night, Governor.”

“Good night, Mr. President.”

As the sun rose at Siesta Key, the nine exhausted teens slept soundly in the two tents they'd pitched on the beach. After one of the most exciting, eventful days of their lives, they hadn't gotten to sleep until nearly three o'clock in the morning.

In the boys' tent, Kevin was brought out of a deep sleep by what he thought was the sound of music coming from a radio. He listened for awhile and recognized the song as one of his mom's favorites, a Beatles song, “Here Comes the Sun.”

Kevin sang along in his head as the music became louder:
“Here comes the sun, nah nah nah nah ...”

Suddenly, Kevin realized the familiar music was coming from the sky!

He sat up and whispered loudly, “Hey guys! Get up! Gator Mikey's flying right over us!”

Kevin was out of the tent in three seconds and his good friends weren't far behind.

As they looked up in the air, there was Gator
Mikey! He was hovering 20 yards above the surface of the water, just 30 yards away from where they were standing.

“I've got to get the girls up,” Chad whispered slowly as he stared up at Gator Mikey who seemed to be staring right back at him.

Chad and Nick ran over to the girls' tent.

“I can tell there's some recognition on his part,” Prez observed. “Some of those circuits must still be working.”

“Should we talk to him or something?” Mike whispered.

The girls ran over and joined the boys. They gazed up at Gator Mikey, who seemed to recognize the nine teens, at some level at least.

“Yes, talk to him,” Prez whispered. “Maybe he'll figure out who we are.”

“Gator Mikey, it's me, Jessie. I helped design you and give you your lights and fabulous paint job.”

“Gator Mikey, I'm Kevin. I helped program you with all the historical and geographical information. You've been using it to come up with your multiple choice questions.”

“Hi, Gator Mikey. I'm Kari. I got things organized each day so we could finish building you quickly. Do
you remember me?”

Gator Mikey seemed focused on what the teens were saying.

“I think he recognizes us,” said Nick. “Let's keep talking.”

“Gator Mikey, it's me, Mike. I programmed all those songs in your data banks. That's my voice you're using when you sing your songs.”

Mike started singing “Here Comes the Sun” softly in his Elvis voice. “Here comes the sun, nah, nah, nah, nah ...”

This seemed to trigger something in Gator Mikey. He started singing again:

Here comes more fun,

Nah, nah, nah, nah,

Here comes more gator fun,

And I say,

It's time to go now,

Fun, fun, fun, here we come ...

Gator Mikey turned and took off at a slow speed, flying northwest toward Longboat Key. Kari looked at her friends. “Time to head for the airport!” she said anxiously.

Chad's mom and dad rushed the nine teens to the airport in the van. On the way, Sarabiskota could actually see Gator Mikey flying slowly in a northwesterly direction above the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico side of Longboat Key.

“Where do you guys think he's going?” Chad's dad asked.

Doc had her computer on her lap. “On his present course, he's headed straight for Tallahassee,” she noted.

Nick giggled. “If he keeps traveling at this speed, we could almost catch him in a golf cart. He's barely moving.”

“It's almost like he's waiting for us to catch up with him,” said Jessie.

“No doubt,” said Kevin. “Do you think he's playing a game with us?”

“I have no idea,” Prez replied. “But it's as good an explanation as any.”

“Mrs. Renner, thanks for volunteering to come with us today,” said Kari.

“How could I possibly pass up an experience like this?” Mrs. Renner replied. “It will be my first experience on a private jet.”

“Do all of you have everything you need?” Mr.
Renner asked.

“Doc and I double-checked everything before we loaded up,” Kari answered.

Prez's cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Prez. This is Governor Trust. Are you at the airport yet?”

“Almost, Governor.”

“Any ideas about Gator Mikey's next destination?”

“We could actually see him flying north off Longboat Key a few minutes ago. He's flying really slow. Doc says he's on course for Tallahassee right now, but that could change any time.”

“Tallahassee would be great. That's where I am now and I have several meetings here today.”

“On a Sunday, Sir?”

“Yes, even on Sunday. Well, you all have a good flight. I'll give you a call later.”

“Thanks, Governor. Bye.”

“Good-bye, Prez.”

Gator Mikey flew over the southern half of Longboat Key, then he headed straight north. He flew right over a group of kids playing in front of Sea
Breeze Elementary School in Bradenton. After that, he flew over the DeSoto National Monument at the mouth of the Manatee River. The flying gator then turned sharply to the east and flew up the Manatee River all the way to the Bradenton City Pier.

There, he slowed down and started circling a large building nearby, where a huge crowd was already gathering.

“Manatee!”
Gator Mikey boomed. “We're here at the Parker Manatee Aquarium in the city of Bradenton. Bradenton is the county seat of Manatee County. This is the home to the oldest manatee in captivity in the whole world, Snooty! He came to this aquarium from Miami in 1949 when he was just a baby. Hi, Snooty!”

Snooty looked up into the sky through the clear plastic domed aquarium. The huge flying gator above him was calling his name! Snooty used his front flippers and lifted himself right out of the water and squeaked with excitement.

“Here's my question for Snooty and all the rest of you. Besides Manatee County, how many of the 67 counties in Florida are named after animals? Is it A, zero; B, one; or C, two? Of course, I'll repeat the question and give you ten seconds to answer.”

Gator Mikey repeated the question and sang ten seconds of the Elvis song “It's Now Or Never.”

After that, he said, “The answer is A, zero. None of the other counties in Florida are named after animals besides Manatee County. There once was a Mosquito County in Florida, but who would want to live there? They changed the name to Orange County. Now, what do you yell if you got the question correct?”

“I'm smarter than a flying gator!”

“Fantastic!
Well, good-bye Snooty! Good-bye everyone! Where do you think I'm flying to next? I'll give you a hint:
Ichepuckesassa! Ichepuckesassa! Ichepuckesassa!”

Sarabiskota followed Gator Mikey's activity at the aquarium on their computers while they waited to board their jet.

“Ichepuckesassa! Ichepuckesassa!” Kevin repeated.

“It has such a nice rhythm to it,” Jessie said as she started dancing around the airport terminal while chanting the strange sounding word. Soon, her eight friends joined in the little dance.

“Sounds more like a disease some hockey player might get,” Nick said as he danced around. “Doc, do you have a prescription for Ichepuckesassa?”

“Not for that,” Doc replied, giggling. “But you may need a prescription for that dancing of yours.”

Everyone started laughing so much they couldn't dance any more.

“Has anyone found any information about Ichepuckesassa at all?” Kari asked.

“There's a creek up in Hillsborough County with a similar name,” Prez replied, “but no towns I could
find.”

A lady and two men approached them and introduced themselves. First, there was Ron Ladd, a friendly, short man in his early thirties with a slight southern accent. He turned out to be the flight attendant.

“It's an honor to be on the same aircraft as the famous Sarabiskota,” he said with a smile as he shook all their hands. “My daughter is in the third grade, and she's so jealous of me getting to fly with y'all.”

The other two people introduced themselves as Jan Alcorn and Justin Fischer. Jan was a tall, pretty, brunette. She turned out to be a reporter from a television station in Montpelier, Vermont. It was easy to tell what Justin did. The young, athletic looking man was carrying a television camera.

Jan explained, “Justin and I were the lucky ones to have our names drawn out of a hat. It's our job to cover you and this big story while you're on board the jet and share the information with the rest of the news media around the world. If we get in your way too much, please let us know.”

Finally, they boarded the aircraft, a beautiful Gulfstream III jet.

“Oh, my gosh!” Kari exclaimed when she first got on board.

“Look at all the room in here!” Kevin added.

“This is definitely going to be fun,” said Jessie. Ron said, “Make yourselves comfortable and buckle in. You can move around anywhere you'd like once we get in the air.”

The pilot came over the intercom. “This is your pilot, Ward Larsen. We're about ready to take off on
Sarabiskota Airlines.
Our special mission is to follow Gator Mikey wherever he goes. My copilot, John Wanner, and I are happy to be part of this historic journey. If there's anything we can do to make your trip more enjoyable, please let us know.”

At the same time they were taking off, Gator Mikey was flying over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near St. Petersburg. After their jet had reached sufficient altitude, the nine teens gathered in the lounge area and turned on their computers to see what was happening.

“Gator Mikey has turned northeast and increased his speed,” Chad reported.

“It looks like he'll fly right over downtown Tampa,” Mike added.

“I think I know exactly where he's headed,”
Jessie said excitedly.

“Where?” asked Nick.

“Look,” she said, pointing at her computer screen. “There's no town named Ichepuckesassa, but there used to be. That's where he's flying.”

Sarabiskota's jet caught up with Gator Mikey as he approached Brandon, Florida. As large numbers of people watched and cheered from the ground below, Gator Mikey flew above Interstate 4 on the way to Plant City.