Camo Croc--Missing In Action

Scott came hobbling in the back door one night with only one shoe on. What’s wrong? Nothing. Where’s your croc shoe? I dunno. I can’t find it. Where did you leave it? I dunno. Why don’t you know? We were playing with them, throwing them on the swing set and now I can’t find it. I’ll just wear my sandals. Well, you’d better find it, they are brand new!! I’ve looked! I can’t find it!!

So I volunteer for the dangerous search and rescue mission. Camo Croc was most likely kidnapped by his arch nemesis, Piper……aka, Hyperdog. The first phase of the mission was to locate all of Hyperdog’s secret lairs—places she could torment Camo Croc without fear of discovery. Her favorite torture is to chew on her victims for a while and then slobber all over them until they break and spill everything, from who keeps hiding my keys to where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.

First lair I find is under the back porch steps. It’s dark and buggy under there. Shudder I find carcasses of rubber balls and soda bottles but Camo Croc was not there. Next I looked in the barren wasteland under the swing set. Nothing there but drifting dunes where Hyperdog’s been digging for buried treasure. My last resort was to enter……THE GARAGE…….an intricate labyrinth of two year old moving boxes, bicycles, roller blades, hockey equipment and a multitude of tools. If you aren’t careful, you can get lost for days……weeks even!!! I cautiously enter the maze, dropping a few bread crumbs along the way to aid my retreat. I find one of my shoes, a tortured hockey puck and several dismembered puppy toys but once again, no Camo Croc.

Then it hit me like a beam! Where is the best place to hide something? Right under your nose!! Camo Croc must be hiding in plain sight to escape capture. I make criss-cross passes over the yard. No luck. One last ditch effort in the fading light sent me around the perimeter. There I found him…..Camo Croc……making a break from the swing set to the spruce tree where he could hide. I actually almost stepped on him. He blended perfectly into his surroundins. He is, afterall, Camo Croc! A quick inspection showed no signs of torture so he must have been able to evade Hyperdog’s clutches. Mission completed successfully!!!!

We all slept soundly that night knowing that Camo Croc was safe and sound in Scott’s bedroom. But as we were getting ready for school the next morning………..Scott, where’s your shoe? I dunno…………….