See Spot. See Spot Fly.

Well, we finally got some sunshine while in Florida! It’s weird to think that we’re here in late May and they’re having floods… But the thunder and lightning storms are pretty sweet (even when they hit at 3 p.m.)

Anyway, here’s the deal. We all have to make a multi-media project during our two weeks at the Poynter Institute. Well, multi-media is encouraged, but the big thing is trying something new.

Personally, I have never done video. I mean, a serious video. You’ve probably seen the goofy YouTube shit I’ve made with Gene or Ben or John, but this is broadcast journalism. Originally, I had planned on creating a SoundSlide presentation similar to this one: Life Line, a presentation made by a Poynter Fellow last year.

But I want to try something new. So video it is.

Mine was going to be about sharks. You see, last week a 1,000-pound hammerhead was caught near here. Thus, I was instantly intrigued - if not for the sole fact that I annually circle the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week on my calendar before my family’s birthdays.

After talking to a few fisherman down at the pier, I was even more obsessed. One guy told us that he previously caught a 5-foot hammerhead on the pier. However, in order to reel the fish aboard, he had to walk all the way down the pier and onto the beach to slay the beast. Meanwhile, people are watching as this guy guts one of the oldest predators on earth, yet people continue swimming!! That was what perplexed me the most.

Well, yesterday I trekked back down the pier, camera in hand to discover what I could. I wanted a shark story. Nay, I needed a shark story, and I needed it bad.

I stopped in the bait shop near the tip of the long pier (see picture of how long the pier is here), and I was surprised that it was still open. I knew they fished for sharks at night, as the woman who mans the bait shop informed me of this a few days ago. But I figured the bait shop – aka Pelican-feeding headquarters – would be closed.

Alas, the attendant remained on duty! I was ready to pick her brain about sharks. However, I couldn’t stop looking at her buddies (this photo was from a day or so earlier):
 

And it seemed one was closer to her at most times than the others. Well, low and behold, there was a pelican named “Spot” that has been following this chick around for six years.

Yeah, six years!

What’s more, this lady actually moved away for two years, and upon her return to the pier, Spot recognized her INSTANTLY!

Are you kidding me!? Now that is a story!

And even though only one of Al Tompkin’s areas of motivation apply (he says innate curiosity is sometimes all it takes to motivate a reader into perusing a story, albeit there are a few others that remain much stronger when motivating), he also agreed with me today that this story was indeed curious enough. Screw community or health or family, I wanna know about the bird,

And boom goes the dynamite!

So here is Spot, the pelican who follows the bait shop employee I spent all afternoon videotaping and interviewing. This photo is from my phone, so I will be taking much higher quality photos as the weekend progresses. One final note: Spot is close to 30 years old!

It just keeps getting better…