Copyright 1995(c) 
Travels With Leslie 9 
By Leslie Meek
August 24, 1993 
 
     CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS -- Some psych theory has it that 
we are afraid because we run instead of running because we 
are afraid. 
 
     Either way, I was making pretty good time along the 
beach toward my motel.  No matter what, I knew I shouldn't 
look back. 
 
     Scientists explain that our bodies release powerful 
chemicals called adrenaline and noradrenaline when we are 
afraid or angry.  Our internal feeling of fear could well be 
an emotional reaction to the automatic release of 
adrenaline, some experts say.  If that's true then we don't 
need a conscious reason to be afraid . . . it's something we 
just do. 
 
     I was scared as I stomped my way on the sand.  But who 
was stirring my chemicals?   Was I really afraid of the guy 
behind me with the rose?  Or was I afraid of Leslie? 
 
     I made it all the way up the stairs before I finally 
looked back.   I looked up and down the beach in the 
distance and along the road that led to the motel.  Nobody.  
Apparently, he stayed where he was; sitting cross-legged on 
the beach with that silly rose stuck in the sand. 
 
     Peculiar.  I was sure he would have followed. 
 
     I went inside my room and slammed the door.  Now it was 
time to deal with the other chemical.  Noradrenaline is 
anger's drug of choice and I was pissed off.  I was mad that 
this guy had forced me to alter my schedule and cut short my 
walk.  I was upset with myself for possibly overreacting to 
the situation.  I was mad I spent the rest of the morning 
thinking about it. 
 
     That afternoon I went over to the marina and rented a 
12-foot boat.  My boyfriend and I had done the same thing 
before, years ago.  Drinking and laughing, we chased 
dolphins in the bay.  I fired up the little outboard and 
went out to see if I could get lucky on my own. 
 
     I have always held this un-proven belief that dolphins 
may be just as intelligent, if not more so, than human 
beings.  Scientists now agree that they actually use 
symbolic language in communicating with each other and history 
books are filled with stories of the mammals saving sailors 
from the sea.  As I scanned the bay for dorsal fins I 
wondered if they ever had the same problems with the 
chemicals of anger and fear. 
 
     It wasn't long before one surfaced.  Then another, and 
another.  And I spent an hour following a family of dolphins 
around the bay as they played.  They would make large, slow 
circles and I would follow.  One kept to the side of the 
boat, close enough so I could see he was watching me, while 
the others kept in front -- always slightly ahead.  
 
     Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, they were 
gone.   
 
     I begin to make wider and wider circles with the boat, 
looking everywhere.  I remember the same thing had happened 
before.  The dolphins would suddenly vanish and it would be 
twenty minutes or so before John and me could find them 
again.  I continued this insane search for some time before 
it dawned on me.  I shut the engine off and sat dead in the 
water. 
 
     This ocean was home to these intelligent animals.  They 
could swim faster than the boat and outmaneuver its captain 
at will.  Who was "finding" who? 
 
     The family returned thirty-five minutes later and I 
could swear the one who flanked the boat was giving me a 
sarcastic look for not playing the game right.  We played 
together for the rest of the afternoon -- in spurts.  Only 
this time I did what a human is expected to do and searched 
for them when the water became still. 
 
     I thought back to that morning; the sand, the rose, and 
dark hair blowing in the wind.  Dolphins, it seems, have 
more than one way of saving sailors at sea. 
 
     I pointed the bow toward the marina and gave the little 
outboard full power.  As the hull pounded against the 
ripples of the bay I became convinced that if adrenaline and 
noradrenaline exist in the veins of dolphins, the chemicals 
have little effect on the creatures.  Human beings are a 
dolphin's only natural enemy, yet they are able to play with 
mankind and its noisy technology without fear.  And they can 
teach, as they did me, without anger. 
 
     Refreshed, I walked into the rental shack and gave the 
old guy back his floatable cushions and unused oar and 
waited for my driver's license and change. 
 
     "Little boat can be lots of fun," the old man said.  
"You miss what's going on around you in one of Jimmy's 
ships." 
 
     "Jimmy?" 
 
     The man dug out my paperwork and handed me back $32.80 
of my hundred-dollar deposit.  He stared at the Missouri 
driver's license. 
 
     "It's me," I said. 
 
     "You sure come a long way, didn't ya.  You know Jimmy 
from back there?" 
 
     "What are you talking about?  Who the hell is this 
Jimmy?" 
 
     "Oh, sorry.  Almost forgot."  The man reached down 
under the counter and pulled out a single, red rose.  "Said 
to give this to you when you come in.  Said . . . " 
 
     "Listen," I said quickly, "I do not know anybody here 
except a few dolphins, and they don't have names." 
 
     "Said he was sorry.  Said he had . . . " 
 
     "I'm lost here.  Who is this guy?" 
 
     "Said he had to get back to the beach.  Said you would 
understand." 
 
     I paused to collect my thoughts and dilute the 
chemicals.  I took a deep breath.  "I'm just visiting here.  
If you have a little time, I think you can really help me 
out," I said calmly. 
 
     "Got plenty of time." 
 
     And he had plenty to say. 
 
 
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