Flippy Flog #2

Hi, Flippy here! Please excuse me the long wait since my last communique. I have been out and about, enjoying the sights and sounds of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. What may be a problem for some, a big storm, can be a delight to those of an aquatic bent. All sorts of things have been unearthed out there, and I had a good time, but let me tell you, I most remember my charitable activities.
I got a message from an unnameable source that the washed-out-to-sea Mississippi Dolphins were in need of help, so I headed on out. Sure enough, the little guys were confused, lost in the biggest tank they’d ever seen. Previously the darlings of thousands, the four lifelong welfare recipients had found themselves without adulation and without sustenance. They needed relief work.
I did what I could.
It’s not easy providing survival skills to those long-dependent on the intelligence of humans. I told them, first, that they had to find food. Aghast that they could no longer simply drive to the grocery store, their first reaction was to deny, as do so many. Denial, however, led to hunger, and hunger, of course, led to acceptance. Soon it was kill and eat, kill and eat. You should have seen it! There was a lot of fin-slapping going on! Take a bunch of guys, show them that they don’t need the Man anymore, and you just turn them loose. It was a beautiful thing.
But not all that simple, after all. Conditioning is not so beautiful. Days into the project, when I really was starting to think that the guys could make it on their own, despite their doubts, the Man showed up. They’d been looking for the Dolphins for some time, ostensibly to save them, but really, of course, to protect their investment. That was a lot of my work down the drain, really quick. The guys just caved, let me tell you. Real disappointing to me, but, like I said earlier, they’d been on the dole a long time. Still, I just hated it. Those human guys were late! I mean, where had they been, if they were supposed to be the ones to help? Let’s face it, you just can’t depend on ‘em!
So I headed back. Took some side trips, but here I am again, back home.
Your pal,
Flippy