THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507070044
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Rest easy, citizens of Chesapeake. Big Foot is defending the Jordan Bridge from all enemies whomsoever. Especially mice.
That last should clue you that we are not talking about THE Big Foot, celebrated monster of folklore, legend and supermarket tabloid headlines. This Big Foot is a cat. Specifically, the cat in residence at the Jordan Bridge. That's where bridge tender Mike Byron introduced me to her. The hairy little hussy lapped my hand, meaning she either liked me or I still smelled of breakfast.
A man who used to work at the bridge brought her from home about three years ago when she was a kitten. The staff had her spayed with money from the office soda machine and equipped her with collar and tag. ``Big Foot, Jordan Bridge,'' it says. Her name, Mike says, came from the fact that she had large economy-sized paws right from kittenhood.
If she finds you acceptable and you ask her to ``go for a ride,'' she will let you drape her around your shoulders. However, do not think that she is a free-loader trading on charm like a four-footed lily of the field. She is a wowser of a mouser.
``She slaughtered the mice population,'' Mike says. ``Once in a while, she shows off a trophy, but mostly she eats 'em or plants 'em.'' Her turf is the whole 20-acre stretch of the bridge site and the adjoining Elizabeth River Landing Park. There's food and water for her in the office.
``And if it's hot or cold or raining, she'll pick a chair in the office and visit,'' Mike says. That's her social side. She also has a touch of smart-aleck. She likes to tease the mockingbirds that flit around the bridge. She'll be lying in the sun and the birds will come near and issue challenges. Her response is ``Ho-hum, you're boring me,'' which makes them even madder.
If because of Big Foot, no mice are using the bridge these days, no cars are using it either. The bridge has been out of commission since April of last year when it was clonked by a ship. But since it is over a navigable river, the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth, Coast Guard rules say it must be manned and monitored. That's why Mike and his co-workers are still on duty.
However, life is less colorful than it used to be. When rush-hour traffic had to stop for a ship, the drivers bombarded the bridge staff with many vivid gestures and phrases. ``I got a lot of one-finger salutes,'' Mike says. ``Besides English, I have a basic familiarity with Spanish, German and French and I heard cuss words in all four languages.''
No drivers now, but still lots of boaters out there on the river. Many of them dumb boaters, says Mike. He is a longtime Coast Guard Auxiliary instructor in boating safety, and he sees things that make him shudder. Like boats without enough life jackets for the passengers, or jackets still snugly wrapped in the original packaging.
His classic life jacket story involves the time he and another Auxiliary officer named Bob Stewart spotted an inflatable boat without enough life jackets for parents and children. ``What are the rules if you hit a rock and the boat sinks?'' Stewart asked the parents. ``How do you decide which one of the children drowns?''
Then there is what Mike calls the ``George Washington Crossing the Delaware'' style of boating. Think of the famous painting of Washington in the boat. People standing - that's what gives Mike boating-safety chills. Sit down, George, advises Mike. Sit down, all you weekend sailors out there for a quickie cruise.
But some boaters don't even know the absolute basics. There's an old joke about an admiral who looks at a piece of paper in his desk every morning. Ensign wonders what's on the paper. He sneaks in one morning and looks. The paper says ``Port is left, starboard is right.'' Mike says he has talked to boaters who obviously hadn't figured that out yet. You just have to hope you're not on the water when they are.
Or else maybe you can steer them to the next Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety class. It will start Sept. 12 at Indian River High School. For more information, call 543-0363 or 545-3242.
Mike would also like more people to know about Elizabeth River Landing Park, down there by the bridge site. ``Best-kept secret in Chesapeake,'' Mike says. It has slides, swings, grills, picnic tables and a shelter, plus a boat ramp. A power walker was there as Mike spoke, striding hard, pumping arms and looking determined enough to have walked through a wall if one had suddenly appeared.
About this time, Big Foot slid from Mike's shoulder and went off on patrol. The Jordan Bridge may have its problems, but with Big Foot in charge, mice will never be one of them. by CNB