Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Running on Water
“Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolutely nothing—half so much worth do-
ing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,” he went on dreamily . . .
“Look ahead, Rat!” cried the Mole suddenly.
—Kenneth Grahame,
The Wind in the Willows
, 1908
David and I could hear Nancy Hook muttering in the kennels, getting the dogs watered and
fed so we could leave. Our helping only slowed her down. “You son of a bitch,” she told a
massive pit bull mix. She kept her tone conversational. He had been biting people. Nancy
would fix him. She specializes in dogs who bite without being ordered to.
Near the kennels, the bass boat sat on a rusty trailer, hitched to Nancy's pickup. Weeds
had sprouted inside the boat. I plucked at them until Nancy arrived and told me to leave
them alone. She was growing them on purpose, she said. Last night's rain had left an inch of
