Comments on: Feeding The Mermaids

By: cny_269

cny_269 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:46:54 +0000

Awwww, I haven’t seen Chuck in about 2 years, or David for that matter. We all went to Edisto Island, SC for family vacation. It’s nice to talk to somebody other than familiy who appreciated JP all the way around. I miss him. He died when I was a senior in highschool.

By: punydevil

punydevil — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:05:23 +0000

My friend is Chuck Garner, JP’s brother David’s son. Chuck’s now a doctor. I’m now a lawyer. But I’ll never forget those days with JP. I still use a JP word — smackeymouth — to describe making out with your girlfriend. As in, “Did you get some smackeymouth?” What a character.

By: cny_269

cny_269 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:08:33 +0000

The only comment i have is for “punydevil”. Actually a question. I just gotta know who your best friend is that was JP’s nephew. He was my great-uncle and what a GREAT uncle he was. He is deeply missed. I always loved hearing his storied and watching him on national geographic….was amazing w/ capturing gators and such.

By: MattBille

MattBille — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:10:38 +0000

sschaper,

That area was within the range of the dugong.

From the AMNH site, I see this interesting note:

“A picture from the Nuremburg Bible of 1483 shows a mermaid, merman and mer-dog swimming near Noah’s Ark. According to this illustration of the Biblical story of the Flood, when land animals were rescued in the ark, the merfolk stayed nearby to weather the storm.”

By: sschaper

sschaper — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:44:01 +0000

Matt,
Skins were used in part of the Tent of the Meeting.

That makes me wonder if there once was a population in the Sea of Reeds (now the Suez Canal)

By: MattBille

MattBille — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:21:37 +0000

Loren, I now officially envy you. The manatee business must have been tremendous fun. I grew up across the peninsula in Vero Beach, where manatees were scarcer: the only one I remember seeing in the wild a big fellow swimming in salt water at the entrance to Sebastian Inlet.

Can you give us some idea what a mermaid is doing in a series called Beasts of the Bible?
Thanks

By: punydevil

punydevil — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:09:07 +0000

I spent some time there as a kid. My best friend’s uncle, the late J. P. Garner, ran the park which was known as The Attraction or Nature’s Own Attraction. Awesome place to have free roam of if you were a kid. They had an American Crocodile named Big Jake that was about 15 feet long that would chase after and leap out of the water to grab a dead chicken on a zip line. Also, all of the animals J.P. had trained during his days in Hollywood including Lu the Hippo, the bear from Gentle Ben, and Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion from Dakatari. J.P. passed a few years ago but left behind some great stories. My favorite was that a newlywed couple visited the former petting zoo, dressed in their wedding clothes. A male emu took a shine to the bride, tackling her and demonstrating his affection. The husband was livid, threatening to sue. He demanded to know what J.P. was going to do. J.P. said, “I’ll give you the pick of the litter.” The husband thought that was hilarious and he and J.P. became friends. Took my kids back a few years ago and we adopted some manatees. You brought back great memories for me