Dad and the Iguana
By Donald Jones
Going to the beach when you are a kid means nothing but fun. Parents think this way also. We went to the beach almost every weekend when we lived in Cuba. There was a favored spot that they would pick. It was located in a cove with one end sheltered by a great cliff on the right. There were old cannon emplacements on the top of the cliff that over looked the bay. They had been left there as remnants from a different era of long ago.
Families would congregate under two or three of the covered cabanas located near the edge of the water. The barbeque pits were all fired up, and the soft drinks and beer were there by the tubs full for all who had a thirst to quench. We kids spent all our time in the water playing just under the shadow of the cliff where great rocks were found and served a diving platform for us to jump into the water.
On one of those days a commotion was made by the adults as they all were looking at the cliff and pointing at something above. We kids got out of the water to watch what the adults were looking at. A great green Iguana was seen climbing a ledge half way up the cliff. The men decided that they were going to catch that Iguana. What any of them would do with it, after it was caught, no one had given much thought too. The three most agile men started up the cliff. My father was one of those men. The sight of three grown men climbing the cliff while the lizard out ran them was hilarious. They chased that lizard up and down that cliff till it found a big hole to hide in. My dad told one of the men to go get the fishing gaff in the back of his car. One of the men ran to get the gaff and climbed back up and handed it to him.
Iguanas are known to be harmless and don’t have any serious teeth to bite with. He did not have this bit of information. The Iguana sat there, peering at him with his red eyes, as dad looked into the hole. He reached in with the gaff and hooked on to the back of that big Iguana and started to pull it out of the hole. The Iguana, with the assistance of the hook in the gaff readily came out of the hole straight into the face of my dad, who was holding on with one hand, fifty feet up on a ledge above the water. The Iguana came out with his mouth wide open and red eyes glaring. The sight, startled my dad so badly that he yelled and lost his footing and went into the water. When dad hit the water, he also hit several big rocks underneath the water, that caused him to break an ankle.
The men took Dad to the hospital to check out his leg and get it X-Rayed. We were told after we were taken home that Dad was in the hospital with a broken ankle. We thought he just went off with some friends. When we arrived, we found dad with a cast on his foot. I think at the time, when I found out what had happened, I felt more sorry for the Iguana then my dad. That was the last my dads lizard chasing. That old Iguana had been seen for many years after we had moved back to the states. My dad was informed from some of his old buddies, that the Iguana became a legend to the beach goers. He had been given a new name, “Humpback”