Larry the Slug
Larry, like many of his fellow slugs, loved to eat mushrooms. Larry's love for Oregon mushrooms was becoming so over the top that it could be considered an obsession. This obsession was the reason Larry, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), was struggling with the decision to move with the rest of his family to Santa Cruz, California.
Larry's uncle Frank, a bright yellow banana slug, recently made it big and was called by the University of California Santa Cruz to take over all mascot duties. With his new found riches, Uncle Frank purchased a beautiful plot of land in the coastal redwoods and invited the entire extended family to live with him. The Golden State was beautiful and Larry would miss his family terribly if they left without him, but Larry had subsided on his PNW mushroom diet for so long that he couldn't imagine what his system would do if he had to live for an extended period without them.
As fortune would have it, Larry almost found out on a recent rainy spring morning. This is the story of Larry's recent struggle to find his favorite breakfast.
Larry awoke as the sun started to rise. Well, as the sun was scheduled to rise. It was another beautiful Portland raining morning as the black sky turned to a dark grey, alerting Larry to the early dawn hour. It had been an unusually wet spring, which made already amazing mushroom territory the best Larry had ever seen. Even in an abundant year as this, Larry still needed to be mobile early to make sure he beat his fellow slugs to the best mushroom spots.
The truth was Larry had always been a morning slug and would have been up early regardless, but the pull of his favorite cuisine gave him the extra push to get out of bed without hitting the snooze button. After a pass through the local water fountain for a quick bath Larry set out to hit up his favorite spots.
A short slither down the path from his house Larry had already spotted a beautiful specimen from 50 feet away. As he slithered closer his heart sank as he realized his buddy Carl had beaten him to the punch. The worst part about Carl winning this round was that he didn't even like to eat mushrooms. He simply enjoyed the way the cap felt on his body as he slithered across. This may not have been so terrible if that didn't also mean he left his slimy trail, and whatever else had collected on his foot, over all the best parts, leaving it inedible.
Larry knew he didn't have long to wallow in his misfortune so he set off for his next location. This spot was a bit further down the path and Larry knew he didn't have a moment to spare as this location was more popular and would likely fill up quickly. Larry grudgingly congratulated Carl on his fortune and slithered along as quickly as he could.
It was now that Larry was happy he didn't have to lug his house around on his back like his friend Sheila. Sure it would be nice to occasionally camp out closer to his favorite eating spots, but Sheila was always complaining about her bad back, and it took her twice as long to get anywhere because of the extra weight. Right now, speed was of the essence, and a shell on his back would not help.
Shaking off thoughts of bad backs and lugging around all your worldly possessions, he was able to quickly find a good slither rhythm and was just starting to daydream about the tasty morsels he hoped to soon be enjoying when he hit his second road block of the day. This time it was a literal road block as the trail to his destination was closed.
At this point he began to panic. Larry had several other favorite spots, but they were now all either beyond the road block, or in the opposite direction, and would likely be picked over by the time he could find his way there. The beautiful overcast day was quickly turning into a nightmare and Larry was starting to imagine slithering through a pile of salt and ending his misery. (Yeah, he gets a bit dramatic when he gets hungry 🤷♂)
Larry gave himself a few moments to feel sorry for himself before shaking it off and deciding this would not be the end of today's hunt. It wouldn't be easy, but he was going to go off the beaten path and see what he could find. He made a left where he would usually make a right and determinedly pushed on.
He passed a family of deer drinking from the cool creek, heard a nest of baby woodpeckers anxiously chirping for mom to return with worms and narrowly avoided a runner charging down the path. Larry was now a focused slug and he wasn't going to let distractions keep him from charging on. So he continued on, determined to find his favorite food, for what felt like hours.
He was on the brink of giving up, as he was quite nearly lost being well beyond his typical haunts, when he came up a fallen tree. At first Larry took this as another literal road block telling him to head home on an empty stomach. But then he looked closer. It wasn't just a fallen tree, but a perfect nest for what he had spent all morning searching for.
Had Larry been capable he would have shed a tear of absolute joy. It was the most beautiful sight Larry had ever seen, and somehow, it was his, and his alone as there didn't seem to be another soul in sight. These were the moments he realized he could never leave Oregon. His family would have to enjoy California without him, he couldn't live without this joy.
The Inspiration for Larry
I do a lot of running and as I run often make up stories of the wildlife I come across. Without meaning to I give them names and backstories to pass the time and entertain myself. Thankfully I also run so long and slow that stopping to take some photos is an option. This particular run was a three hour run in the rain and gave me plenty of opportunities to flesh out Larry's story. All photos were shot on my trusty phone while running through the beautiful trails near my home.
Thank you to the Scholar and Scribe for giving me the inspiration to write down the random story that came to life during my run.