The call began routinely enough from the photo manager, and part time angel of mercy, Suzanne Arndt at Eckerd Drugs store number 2224. Her name is pronounced "aren’t" as in "I aren’t supposed to use her name. The call, "Mr. Dunlap, your reprints are ready," and then it went weird, "and there is a seven-inch long frog in front of the store. I am afraid the kids might hurt it." That was the best one I might hear that day so I jumped in the van and headed for the drug store. I drove up and there was little doubt as to the location of the adventurous amphibian. Store personnel surrounded him. It appeared to be suffering from symptoms of ADR (Ain't Doin' Right) but it was an adult bullfrog, a mean green leaping machine.

I theorize here. There was a rainstorm of Noah's Ark proportions over the weekend and that sometimes causes water turtles, salamanders, and frogs to make the false assumption that the confines of their home puddle or pond have been suddenly expanded. Crawl a few feet, there's water. Take a step, more water. Take a few more hops, still there's water. And so on until a street appears below them and four thousand pounds of SUV roars by and clips their get-alongs. This bullfrog, one leg broken and a big cut right through his never-mentions, crawled from the street, over the curb, and to the wall of Eckerd's.