Did you know that the capitol dome is taller than the U.S. capitol? I don’t think that is supposed to happen, but everything is not bigger in Texas for nothing.

Although I really like Austin, it truly is pretty outlandish, and if you don’t believe it, try visiting a few of the high schools. I chaired the reviews for all eleven, and I can confirm that the dress code is not exactly enforced; and I’m talking about teachers!!! Let’s just say that piercings and tattoos are allowed for young and old alike, and they are proud to sport them.

The funniest attire I saw though was this very large female teacher dressed in a purple velour sweat suit, a purple hat and purple shoes to match. But she didn’t stop there; her fingernails were at least an inch and a half long—so long they curled under, and they were painted purple with a little gold jewel in the middle of the index ones. Where did she find this outfit? How did she grow these nails? They had to be real—fake ones just don’t look this bad.

But the best story of my accreditation visits occurred at a high school in the southern part of town. Judy, the fearless former high school principal, was serving on the team. Just as the last bell rang, she stepped toward the front door. Just as she did, two students were scuffling playfully, and one accidentally fell against her. She didn’t fall, but obviously he made contact.

The other student yelled at him, “You f—— fool, you nearly knocked that ole lady down.” Judy was horrified when she came back to the room where the other members of the team were working. She related the story and reiterated, “Can you believe he called me an ole woman?” Forever the principal who could no longer be shocked, the f—— part went right over her head.

On this trip I’m going for an accreditation meeting and then to present a training for schools going through an upcoming accreditation review. So, I’ll be working some and playing a little. We always manage to go to great restaurants and find time for fun.

When this trip is over, I will have logged over 50,000 miles on Continental just since January. That doesn’t count my travel on Southwest Airlines this year, and there were several trips with them as well. I told you I traveled a lot. I don’t make this stuff up or anything else in my blogs. My life is just one big crazy happening, and I love it that way!

Iggy was big, maybe not by Galapagos standards, but for my yard, a two foot lizard is big, (tail not included) and not welcomed. I do not want to watch a reptile bask in the sun, and I do not want a reptile watch me do anything. Besides I have read they have really keen eyesight!

My neighbors travel a lot to see their grown children so when they were gone for an extended period, ole Iggy began to “live” on my seawall and eat my flowers, which did not sit well, so I decided to take the situation into my own hands.  One afternoon, I retrieved from the boat the 10-foot pole which is used if one gets stuck in water that is too shallow, and proceeded to push Iggy into the bay, thinking he was a land animal that wouldn’t be able to swim.

I have never seen anything swim so fast or move in such an agile manner as Iggy, who joined me on the deck before I could lay down the pole. I could see I was no longer in control of this situation; actually it became obvious very quickly that I had never been in control so I called for reinforcement from my good friend Judy. Judy is a wonderful friend who I worked with for years. She is one of the most unselfish, patient and caring people I have ever known, but she is extremely bossy and ultra organized. Remember, I am very global. I don’t know if she learned that as a high school principal, but I tend to believe that she was like that at a very early age.

Now, every school district needs a good high school leader who can “boss” and give forthright directions, but since she is retired and no longer has teachers or students to give commands to, that only leaves a small contingency on which to use this attribute. Therefore, I knew that when I asked for Iggy assistance, I was abdicating my power. When Judy leaves this world, I know she will have God and St. Peter working off a “Things to to List” and when the roll is called up yonder she will insist that it be numbered and in alphabetical order. So I was prepared.

First order, “Get a bucket!”  Then almost immediately, “A BIG bucket, Cindy” with a hint of frustration in her otherwise usually patient tone.   “Hurry up; I can’t keep him in this net much longer!!” Next, “find me a top” Now, I’m not normally so frazzled, but I had never caught an iguana before. Well, I didn’t exactly catch this one, but I found a board and handed it to her for the top.

She looked at me incredulously and instructed me to find the keys to the red Jeep so that we could take Iggy to the dunes. Once in the Jeep, I saw no reason to hurry. She seemed to have everything under control, leaning heavily on the board and the bucket when all of a sudden; Iggy tried a sideways, somersault-type roll. “Can’t you drive any faster??”

Thinking that the iguana might jump in my lap, I hit the accelerator at Nascar speed, throwing Judy and Iggy toward the dash, but she held on, and within minutes we were at the last dune reachable by car on the north end of the beach. Carefully, she exited the Jeep, walked slowly to some sea grapes, placed him on the sand, grabbed the bucket and ran back to the Jeep. “Move over. I’ll drive.”

Iggy turned to look. “Go,” Judy instructed, “move on.” When all else fails, boss an iguana.

A month or so later the neighbors arrived home. After a couple of days without Iggy waiting for them on the seawall, they yelled over, “Have you seen Iggy” “No, it’s been awhile,” I replied and left it at that.