Stanley Helps JoJo the Wizard and His Friends from the Southwest Get Settled January 31, 2021

January 31, 2021

Note to readers: The Adventures of JoJo the Wizard (a friendly buzzard), and his band of Friends from the Southwest are stepping in this morning. Stanley appears to be indisposed.

Me: Wow! Look at you two! Good morning! Where’s the rest of your friends?

JoJo: Good morning! Oh, they're a little under the weather this morning. Sorry they couldn’t make it. But we sure are happy to be here! Thanks so much for the hot coffee!

Jali (short for Jalapeña, the little javelina): Oh yes! Good morning! It is so much fun to be here. Everyone has been so welcoming.

Me: I’m so glad to hear that and sorry to hear about your friends. I hope they feel better soon. Have you met Stanley yet?

JoJo: Oh yes, he’s been awesome. Introducing us around to everyone. They had a big welcome party for us all last night. What a band that was! You should have seen the dancing.

Me: Really? It sounds like fun! And perhaps that explains why your friends might not be feeling so well I guess and why you are all wearing special party favors still. lol What kind of band did you have?

Jali: They had a rock band playing for us but as the night wore on, some of us joined them on the stage and the drumming and dancing really began! <giggling> You should have seen those rascally raccoons get into the salsa! And Stanley! Mama Mia, that frog can really get his sauce going! We were all clapping and dancing and stomping and laughing. We had a great time until the floods came!

Me: Floods??? What do you mean the floods came?

Jali: Well, it started raining so hard that we had a water gully gushing down through the ravine. And we were all gathered down at the bottom by the bridge, you know. <nodding her head at me> Sort of like the flash floods we have back home only not quite as much water. It still did some damage though and it almost broke up our party.

Me: Oh no! I’m sorry to hear this. Is everyone okay? Almost? So, the party continued?

JoJo: Oh yes! Stanley saved the evening when he shifted the party to bayou boat rides for everyone. He’s such a great frog! You can tell everyone loves him. What a special guy he is.

Me: Yes. He is a special guy. I’ve been wondering where he is this morning. He usually has coffee with me on Sundays. Although I’m thrilled you two have come to join me.

Jali: <giggling> The last time we all saw Stanley, he was climbing up that big tree down there.

Me: Oh no! Was he trying to get away from the flooding?

Jali: No no! He’s a frog, remember. He can swim. He was trying to get away from the Frog Queen. She was so mad at him last night. Apparently, he was dancing with everyone else and not with her. She was chasing him across the bridge, and he was just laughing and laughing. I’m guessing she caught him. <giggling more> I think he might be a bit of a rascal too. Like those crazy racoons.

JoJo: Now, now. Don’t go telling on Stanley and get him in trouble Jali. He really did save the party. The boat rides were so much fun. We don’t get much chance for boat rides where we’re from. I think that was very resourceful of Stanley to come up with the idea. And I loved riding that gully stream going down the hill. We had an amazingly fun time! I’m still chuckling at all the fun things we did.

Me: Oh my! I might need to hear more about all the happenings down here last night. It certainly sounds like you’re getting a good close-up view of life out here in the South. Especially with the famous Bayou Boogaloo Critters. They are quite a fun bunch. What do you all think of the South?

JoJo: Well, it’s pretty nice. We like it. It’s quite different from where we’re from. A lot wetter and a lot more people around. We’re used to a much harsher environment you know. Although, I think it’s good to experience other lifestyles different from your own. So that part is remarkably interesting to us.

Me: hmmm I hadn’t thought about that but I’m guessing it is quite different here. Are you finding what you need to get settled?

Jali: Oh yes. Stanley’s been a big help there too. It’s really cool he knows how to get on the internet and order stuff. He’s getting us all settled very well. Btw, don’t be alarmed if you see a big dump truck backing in tomorrow with a big load of sand. Stanley said you’d be fine with it cuz you’d want us to be comfortable.

Me: Uh huh. So okay. Well, thanks for the heads up. <muttering to myself> I need to find that crazy frog.