The
Legend
of Rojak,
continued...
Joy, Sunshine, Charity and Freedom were born...but no one knew that, at the same time, Annie had brought another special little fellow into the world, a wonderful two-headed creature she named ROJAKâ„¢. Annie was hesitant to reveal this very unique little one and only creature, since he was so...two-headed. She knew that some may not understand him, that he may not be accepted, so she hid him in a magical passage where no one could ever harm him, just in case his UNIQUENESS didn't fit in. She of course knew that because of his wonderful individuality, he was actually quite extraordinary and she knew that when she was gone, ROJAKâ„¢ would reappear as a symbol for special people everywhere. She would love him and train him to accept his uncommon qualities and she knew in her heart that he would learn to withstand all the comments about the uniqueness of his two heads and he would grow up to be a symbol for strength and unity, to be admired by all...and it is time for ROJAKâ„¢to show his face(s).
A bit of historical references may be necessary at this point. For a number of years Annie had been ill and when she finally collapsed on Dragon Point and disappeared from the scene, her dragon spirit returned to the magical passage far beneath the water's surface that her mother had told her about...and where ROJAKâ„¢ had grown up during the daylight hours. This is the place where she had taught ROJAKâ„¢ love, perseverance and the fun of having wings! In the daytime, Annie had witnessed the evolving new world and cautiously guarded her limited edition, special little one. Her other baby dragons could exist playfully with all the other creatures but when she tried to expose ROJAK â„¢ there were always comments, "whispers" about his strange neck with two heads? People and other creatures had a hard time understanding that he was not that different from anybody else. Yes, he was a bit unusual, unique...SPECIAL, and oh, so what if he had two heads. Annie was determined to let ROJAKâ„¢ experience his world in a most normal fashion, even if it meant that she had to continuously shield him from the misconstrued perceptions of many who could not accept his uniqueness. She would continually reinforce him with her love, strengthening him, building his inner confidence...never ever letting him believe he was different. Annie understood that her very uncommon little fellow was to play a important role later on in life, and that his time on planet earth had special meaning, as it does for all. She was aware of the changes that were taking place and there would be a time when the only way to help save the planet would be through understanding and cooperation...and she knew that ROJAKâ„¢ was destined to be a two-headed force to be acknowledged.
Annie's beautiful dragon family was raised in a vast area in east central Florida that includes the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, the Mosquito Logoon, the Indian River Lagoon, the Banana River, the many spoil islands, Port Canaveral (where there were reported constant sightings of a two-headed creature) and the Atlantic Ocean. It is widely believed that NASA had decided to develop this special spot on planet earth as a base for its spaceport because it was so remote, close to the Atlantic Ocean, which made it a safe launching site and...that any potential dragon sightings would be easier to cover up. There have been a number of documented sightings from many of NASA's Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle crews. You can dig into that at NASA headquarter's archives. But it may be hard to get the actual recordings and photos. Because it was a two-headed creature, it probably was decided that maybe it should be kept classified. After all, those rocket scientists at NASA couldn't fully appreciate this special little fellow. Only a mother could fully understand him and his special needs. It must also be noted that even as far back as the early 1900s, citrus growers and their families, the majority of which were immigrants from Italy, had reported strange dragon-like creatures lurking in the wetlands and dense vegetation of north Merritt Island. Since the homesteaders themselves were considered by many to be rather different, the local authorities tended to dismiss their observations. In fact, there had been many sightings from the now nonexistent old wooden bridge way up in northern Merritt Island. From one grove that is in the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, the children often spoke of unusual sights and sounds at night. One of the immigrant families with eight girls told imaginative tales of this wonderful two-headed creature with its magical powers. One of the little girls even wrote poems about "the beautiful, friendly multi-colored dragon with two heads". Not infrequently travelers had reported witnessing bursts of flames coming from the blueish marshes. Even today on nights when the full, golden harvest moon lights up the Lagoon, viewers describe shadows of a two-headed creature with glowing eyes, accompanied by twin "shrieks".
ROJAKâ„¢ seems to understand that his time in now, and it is vitally important for him to "surface" and proudly show his two heads. He realizes that he must be a strong, confident representative of uniqueness and stand tall on ROJAK Point, inhabitating the same area that Annie had guarded.
Banana Creek...looking north.
The old Humpback Bridge built across Banana Creek.