JAMES PENC CREATIVE

As Serious as a heart attack

On January 31, 2026, I went in for double bypass open-heart surgery. 

It was completely way out in left field.

To back up a little bit, the history of how this evolved is an interesting story.

In the beginning of December, I was checking my blood pressure and noticing that my blood pressure was lower than it had been in a very long time by adding meditation two times a day versus just the one time that I had been doing.

So in the beginning of December, it was a cold winter morning for Nashville, like 15° at 4 AM, as I was going for my hour and a half walk. 

About 20 minutes into it, I was struggling to breathe and I just chopped it up to the very cold weather and how it’s harder to breathe being outside in it.

Another five to seven days go by, and then I started feeling chest pain, and my rationale was I just recently had physical therapy the day before and I just thought maybe she just worked me a bit much in that PT session.

Another few days go by and felt something while walking on the treadmill in a morning workout. This time a little bit of a tingling arm, and it was kind of where I didn’t have a logical explanation for.

It went from once every few days, and just once, to now having chest pain, tingling arm, and where it felt like my ears were popping from being on an airplane several times a day, on a daily basis.

Oddly enough, my brother went in for similar situation and ended up having a stent put in during this same time period.

Two days later, on December 23, I took myself to the emergency room and after seven hours, with the bloodwork, EKG, and an echo, it was all determined that everything looked fine and OK. They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

But everything was still the same, I was feeling this chest pain. Nothing had changed.

When the chest pain would happen, I would sit whether at work or at home, and just work on slow breathing to try to calm my heart rate down. These little episodes would happen several times a day from anywhere of a few seconds like 15 or so, up to perhaps a minute and a half to two minutes in duration. But they always went away.

I wasn’t satisfied with what happened in the ER and I met with my physician and she agreed that she thought a stress test would be a good idea.

I went to have my stress test done, I had chest pain during the stress test and they did find that there was a change in flow at some point in my test. 

I then had a meeting with a cardiologist, and it was agreed that a heart cath should be ordered and added regiment of stronger medicine, which also included nitro pills.

Of course, I was apprehensive to take nitro pills because the the day my father died, he ended up taking two in the morning and feeling better, but the ultimate outcome was not good and will be explained further in this story.

My appointment was scheduled, I still continued to have chest pain, worked on my breathing when I had my episodes, and eventually did take a few nitro pills in the extreme emergency when the chest pain got too severe.

On the day of my appointment to see the doctor with the heart catheter, I went in early to work and put in about five hours worth of time.

Of course 10 minutes before I’m trying to leave and tie up everything before having to go to the appointment, I start getting severe chest pain because I’m trying to explain everything at work and get out without being late.

I’m was trying not to freak out that I would be late because I had to pick my best friend up that was accompanying me. You can’t have surgery and drive yourself. You physically need someone else with you to drive you home after the surgery with most hospitals now.

So I managed to get out of work and into my car. I sat there for a few minutes and then actually popped a nitro pill, it was that intense with the pain that I needed to. I was extremely stressed between work, driving, heart cath, all of it.

Trying to calm myself, that I’m not gonna be late, I end up driving to meet my friend, getting stuck in more traffic than anticipated but managed to be on time.

I picked her up, we drove to Vanderbilt Hospital, parked the car and headed in to where we needed to on the fifth floor for my appointment.

I carried my backpack with some extra clothes, charging cables, some toiletries, and my iPad. I brought all that just in case I was going to need to be overnight with a stent, recovering.

I got into my appointment, they had me changing into a gown, they hooked up wires to me and got me ready to have a catheter.

I took all my pre-surgery medicine to minimize my allergic reaction to the dyes that they would be using and was ready to go.

They explained the procedure, I said goodbye to my dear friend Jennifer, and they wheeled me away.

When I returned and was cognizant, the doctor told me with my friend present, that he could not let me leave without having open-heart surgery.

He explained how I had what was called the Widowmaker. My LAD was 95% blocked, and the diagonal was 90% blocked. He did not feel confident if I left that I would live very much longer.

I just looked at at Jennifer in shock. I never in my wildest nightmares anticipated any kind of news like this. I thought maybe I need a stent. OK fair enough, but not that I would need open heart double bypass surgery.

Hearing open heart double bypass surgery was a complete gut punch.

The doctor explained that the only two options I had was to do a stent in a stent, which really wouldn’t work that well because eventually there’d be scar tissue from having the stent inside the other, and there would be blockage once again.

The only viable option was to graft a piece of vein from my leg, and obviously bypass the part of my heart that was blocked with this added piece.

The third option was to do nothing and pretty much just die. I didn’t feel that was an option whatsoever. I had and still have way too many things in this life to accomplish.

So instantly one of my biggest fears in my life, was happening and a repeat of what happened over 30 years ago with my father.

My father had his first mild heart attack and lived another three years until he started having chest pain in the morning. 

He took one nitro pill, and it really didn’t do anything, so he took another. It ended up helping a little bit as the pain seemed to subside. 

So my mum called his doctor as soon as the office was open. They wanted to bring him in to the hospital and keep them there for observation. They left in the morning and my mum returned late in the afternoon somewhere between 3 to 4 PM. She told me that he was in good spirits, joking around being his normal self and that things seemed OK. They just wanted to keep him overnight for more observation.

She came home to pack an overnight bag with his toothbrush, toiletries, and some other things. She was going to the mall quickly to get a new pair of pajamas for him and some slippers.

Along the way, she got tied up talking to someone she worked with and telling the story of what’s going on with my dad.

Within 5 to 10 minutes of mum leaving the house, the phone rang. Back when it was a landline and phone attached to a wall in the kitchen.

The woman on the line was asking for my mother. I told her she just left. Could I take a message?

The woman then asked if I was her son and I said yes.

She said she was from St. Luke’s Hospital and that my father‘s condition worsened. I was a little perplexed as my mum just said to me how he was in good spirits and seemed to be OK. 

I asked how bad his condition worsened and she would not give me any more information and said that she thought I should head to the hospital. Obviously, hearing that, was not great news.

I got in my car, drove to the hospital, got to the floor my dad was supposed to be on and they told me to wait in the waiting room. My mother wasn’t there yet and I kept waiting.

It seemed like an eternity and it was probably at least 90 minutes before they told me the news. I don’t know if my father passed away when I receive a phone call, if he passed away while I was waiting in the waiting room, or if he actually passed away when they told me the news. I didn’t find out until I finally saw the death certificate, 7 PM.

He passed away while I was there and they just didn’t want to tell me the news while I was alone. That’s my belief.

But eventually, I did get the news and they asked me if I wanted to see him. I told them that I’ll wait until my mum was there and we’ll do it together.

From where I was sitting, I could see the elevator when people got off of it. I finally saw my mum get off and turn to her right walking towards my direction. 

I got up, and she saw me in the waiting room and she asked what I was doing there.

I had to tell her that dad died, and I will never forget to look on her face when I told her that news. It’s still haunts me 33 years later. But I wanted her to hear it from me versus a stranger.

We both went to see him on the table, bed. I don’t even remember that detail. His breathing tube still intact.

With this background and setting, I think you can see why my fear and apprehension with the news I received felt like history repeating itself.

One of my biggest fears, unfolding right in front of me. Having to sit there in the fire. I didn’t have a will. I don’t know what would happen if something drastic was to happen like my dad and what I would happen with no plans in place for my death.

We called some options that the case manager gave us for finding a power of attorney to try to get some paperwork in place, in the event that something were to happen.

It was pretty much a no-brainer to have the open heart double bypass surgery so they put me in a room for the night and at about 8:30pm, I started to complain about chest pains, and if I could take a nitro.

Jennifer called the nurse and asked and another 10-15 minutes seemed to go by and they finally allowed me to take a nitro pill. The pain went away, and I managed to get some sleep. Well, as best as I could in between the interruptions with the nurses throughout the night and them doing what they needed to do.

And one of the craziest things about it at some point after the nitro pill helped my heart, I all of a sudden had a stupid hard on and was like what the fuck? I’m certainly not turned or excited sexually with surgery tomorrow first thing. I was having a heart attack, i didnt have a fascination with dying, why of all times, to be aroused? Blood flow there was never the issue. Maybe it was brain trying to take my mind off things, i dont know but such a bizarre moment. And it wasnt the nurses that were doing it for me with how bad my veins kept rolling when they tried to poke for blood samples. That crap hurts.

The morning came, they woke me up and was wheeled down for prep. I was met with some of the members of the team, about four of them. I was discussing how I didn’t have any time to find anyone between last night and that current moment to get the Advance Directive notarized.

Anna on the team for the surgery, read the section where if I had two people witness me signing the advanced directive, that would work. So she and a nurse witnessed my signing and got that piece at least settled.

Sitting there for a few minutes, waiting for the rest of the team to prep into what they were needing to do, Jennifer’s phone completely died. Like perfect timing. Just another thing to add to her long list already of things to do while I was in surgery for what they estimated to be 5 to 6 hours. So gave her my phone and she updated my brothers with the updates she received.

From that point, the last I remember, was laying in the bed talking and being wheeled down the hall to surgery.

Out went the lights, several hours passed, and I finally woke up in an ICU room for Cardio.

I came around, tube down my throat, tubes in stomach, catheter to my privates to pee, not being able to have such control over bodily functions and not feeling if i’m going to the bathroom on myself or not.

 feeling part machine and that’s what is keeping me alive, all of it was surreal. Part machine, part human. 

and on top of all of that, i felt like I was just hit by a truck. Not an 18 wheeler but at least a good sized 20 Footer rental box truck from uhaul.

They kept checking my vitals with nurses is coming and going, Jennifer there being a friendly face and I don’t remember when but shortly after all of that, and was stabilized, they decided to remove the breathing tube that was down my throat. 

That was quite the experience. Feeling someone pulling a tube out that was put down your throat to keep you alive. Feeling like I was vomiting. But at least they were doing it while I was alive, unlike seeing my dad so still and his tube in his mouth laying still on the table. And I told myself to just breath on my own.

As it turned out, I was told after coming around that in fact, I did suffer what was called and evolving or a mild heart attack that Friday night. My heart lost about 30% more of its function, and that if I was not the first person in surgery, that I probably would have eventually died that morning, waiting for surgery. Luckily, the doctor on call that was doing my surgery, did not have any other emergencies first thing in the morning and I was the first to get in to surgery.

I really felt like I dodged a bullet with my name on it. Death was knocking. Knocking hard. But something said it wasn’t my time yet.

I don’t know how spiritual you are, but it almost felt like either one of three things happened. My pop was looking over me saying that it’s not my time, it was my mum looking over me because it was coming up on the anniversary of her death on February 2, I was the one who had to tell her about dad passing and all that history, or it was both of them telling me to fight and that it’s not my time. I just have an innate sense that someone certainly looked over me. Angels, positive energy, whatever do you want to call it, a higher presence certainly seemed to be keeping an eye out for me. I should be dead. My eyes watered writing that. I. Should. Be. Dead.

Then add the conspiracy mind that I have, and I started to think about how my mum named me after two saints because I was born on Christmas Eve. St James. And St. Thomas. She was in the hospital for Christmas .

What if it was the hand of God himself that intervened?

What if my parents were more the angelic force that directed God my way?

What if it was more the fact of God intervening and not so much my parents?

I just know, that something happened while I was in the operating room.

Earlier Friday afternoon, talking to my brothers and letting them know that just in case something was to happen, that I loved them. I was extremely fearful that the history with my dad was going to repeat itself and I at least wanted to let my brothers know one last time that I love them. So throughout the day on Friday, some of the texts back-and-forth in a group chat with my brothers, the reference of me being a little boy came up because I was the youngest the phrase ‘little boy’ passed around in a joking, kind of way. Throughout the years growing up, I was the little boy because I was the youngest of the three of us.

Jennifer relayed the story how when I still had the breathing tube down my throat, that she leaned in and was emulating my father saying something to the effect that, “Little boy, it’s not your time.” A single tear rain down my cheek.

She asked Brandon, who was the nurse on duty, if it was possible that I could hear what she was saying. He said yes, but he didn’t know if the tear was in fact a reaction from emotion or if it was just as if my body was trying to slowly rid the toxins and all the chemicals that kept me alive like the anesthesia used in surgery and such.

So I sat from Friday night to Thursday morning intentionally not turning on the TV or the radio. With the exception of the first night after surgery and I was so worn out, I put the outdoor stadium hockey series on with Tampa Bay and Boston so it would help me doze off a little bit better and I faded in and out throughout the game.

I sat and pondered many things. How I had a heart attack. How I just had open heart surgery. How I’m alive still. How I felt either my dad, my mum or both of them with their presence. What are my priorities in life now? I have this second chance, I don’t want to squander it. What am I gonna do about short term disability, and being out of work for a while, I still have bills to pay. So many things I sat and thought on for six days.

And yet through all of it, I had this overwhelming sense that even though I just had the engine rebuilt, my heart was overflowing. I felt, and still am, extremely more sensitive than the normal sensitive, creative soul I used to be. I felt humbled in that complete strangers that I didn’t even know were putting well intention into the universe for me. Whether it was prayers, healing light, white light, positive energy, love, or combination of any them, I truly felt it. I just had major surgery, and my heart was overflowing with the love and kindness and well wishes from strangers, on top of my family, friends and colleagues. 

I will have to admit, that it took me 3 to 4 days before I could look at my body and look down my gown. I briefly caught a glimpse at the incision and the tubes that were all connected, and it really freaked me out. Not that I was some kind of monster, but all these tubes were needed to help keep me alive and drain fluids out of my body from the surgery.

I get queasy relatively easy and there’s always been something about two parts of the body that always freaked me out with their complexity, and just the nature of how and what they look like and what’s connected to.

The eyes and the heart.

I believe it was Wednesday that I started to look at my sewn up chest. And on Thursday after being allowed to take a shower and getting ready to be released, I took a real good look. The three holes where the tubes came out of my stomach. The long incision that the nurses and doctor said the surgeon did a really good job, sewing up and looked really clean. Just a little hard to read in the post surgery summary that they used this sternum saw and successfully separated my rib cage. I felt like I went from James Flamingo to James Frankenstein jokingly.

I still haven’t managed to get all the adhesive off between all the sensors and the tape down the incision, but I’m still working on it and these are battle scars. They’re like, see this? This is what I went through and I’m STILL here. There is a vengeance and ferocity to me. To have breath in my lungs. A beat in my heart. I truly feel like I’ve had a second chance at life and I can’t fully describe how that feels. How many people were in my corner cheering for me. All of the medical staff from doctors, nurses, volunteers that did what they needed to do that has allowed me to write this at this very moment. There’s a sense that it feels like a Phoenix rising out of the ashes. A rebirth to myself. More emotional than ever, but I’ll take it any day of the week, over the alternative. It’s not a reckless kind of feeling where I’m gonna go take on the world and defy death yet again, but it’s more of this vibrancy in the simple fact of being alive. I’m alive. I am fucking alive. Such a euphoria. I have too many things left to accomplished in this life. All these songs came to mind, as music has always been a huge part of my life. I ended up creating a playlist called So Alive that I will share below.

And speaking of songs, a delivery for a florist brought an arrangement from my work. They sent me flowers and the delivery guy and myself started talking about being alive and randomly got onto music. Going back and forth trading stories and bands we listened to and saw in concert.

We mentioned Bon Jovi and his personal stories of two shows he saw with them when he grew up in California.

He asked me what’s one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs and I thought on it for a minute. Mentally going through each album and songs, I told him probably “99 In The Shade”. 

So he starts playing it on his phone. Like LOUD. And at first I was like this guy is crazy, it’s a hospital. People are trying heal and maybe sleep. But then I’m like fuck, I’m alive. If it’s an issue, a nurse will come in and tell him to turn it down. 

And how I had a nurse who was 21weeks pregnant and aptly named Jamaica and my love for the Caribbean, love of reggae, my love of Bob Marley’s music and my James Flamingo mantra of Island Vibes, 365. Just like a cosmic placement with a nurse named, Jamaica. We did a few laps walking around the floor listening to “One Love” and “Three Little Birds”. Just so many little tidbits like that seemed so well placed by a higher power.

All of this, a week and a half later, still feels so surreal. How it was almost down to the exact letter with my father back in 1993. I had a heart attack and survived that. I survived open heart surgery. How much love was thrown my way. The kindness of strangers pulling for me. How grateful I am to be able to write this and express this all who choose to read it. The skill and precision of everyone that works in the hospital and multiply it by how many other people are there on all different floors of the hospital being helped by these magnificent humans.

My final takeaways are this. My heart is full. Love overcomes all. We can never have enough love, kindness, compassion and empathy towards another fellow human being. I will work on expressing this more physically and mentally in well intentions to all creatures on this planet.

I will continue look at this World with eyes wide open. Like a kid in a candy store. But even wider than ever before. Seeing the beauty in the details that most overlook. I’ll breath in deep and just the feeling of the lungs expanding and smelling the air with the exhale is such a beautiful feeling. There’s a profound appreciation for being able to do that.

I will continue to work on what I learned years ago but need get better at. That is the lesson to just be. I don’t need to have every second filled and consumed. I don’t need to sweat the small stuff. Or really sweat anything. 

I just need to…be. 

My So Alive Playlist:

Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue

Spirit Of Radio - Rush

Best Day Of My Life - American Authors

Rise Up - Andra Day

I Won’t Back Down - Tom Petty

So Alive - Goo Goo Dolls

Magic Power - Triumph

Toes - Zac Brown Band

I Love This Life - LOCASH

Hey Hey Hey - Michael Franti 

Good Vibes - Chris Janson

What I Got - Sublime

When You Were Young - The Killers

Helluva Life - Frankie Ballard

You Had to Be There - Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney

Something To Believe In - Poison

Best Of Both Worlds - Van Halen

So Alive - Love & Rockets

Roar - Katy Perry

Times Like This - Foo Fighters

Blood On Blood - Bon Jovi

Believe - Dirty Heads

Live Like You We’re Dying - Tim McGraw

Alive - Empire Of The Sun

Ride The Wind - Poison

Here’s To Us - Halestorm

Ain’t My Problem - Cain Walker

One Love - Bob Marley

Get Up - Shinedown

Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor 

 I’m Alive - Michael Franti 

Alive - POD

Til You Can’t - Cody Johnson 

Days Like These - Asia

Don’t Stop Believin - Journey 

Still Standing - Cain Walker

Raise ‘Em Up - Keith Urban

Eyes Wide Open - Goo Goo Dolls

Soulshine - Gov’t Mule

Heart Of Soul - The Cult

Heart Like A Truck - Lainey Wilson

Shine Like It Does - INXS

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/so-alive/pl.u-NpXm9RgTmpKjoV

SEA DWELLERS

    It was a normal visit to the dog beach with my dog, Nile. 
    Well, almost a normal visit. 
    I had the Labor Day Monday off so instead our weekly Sunday visit, we did Saturday and back for sunrise on Monday. 
    We drove down Pennisula Ave until the road ended into the gate of the county beach parking lot. 
    There were four vehicles in front of me in line waiting for the attendant to unlock the gate and allow cars in. 
    It was a few minutes before 6am and being the end of summer, it was still dark with the days being shorter with less available day light. 
    The attendant let the cars in, I got to the booth, he scanned my county pass on my car window and we drove to the normal parking spot. 
    I forgot the dog’s choker chain that I put his leash on but I was like no biggie, we’re still at the beach and the 6 foot leash has two handle grip areas and one of them can double as collar. 
    With it’s plastic clasp, I adjusted it to be a little larger to fit Nile’s neck, put it over his neck and we were on our way. 
    We walked in the dark watching the light rotate around from the Ponce Inlet lighthouse that was on the other side of the inter coastal water way. 
    Nile did Nile. 
    He stopped and sniffed the oddest places from what seemed like forever. The blades of grass, the quirky bush, the edge of the first post of the boardwalk. 
    His usual, unusual place to stop and sniff. 
    And sniff. 
    AND SNIFF. 
    But it didnt matter because it was island time. Well, rare holiday time with a full weekend off and enjoying the last day of it. 
    We got to the end of the boardwalk. 
    I took my sandals off and Nile got his first dip into the water, as I had my feet in following behind him. 
    We liked going to the dog beach that sits at the end of the beach town, with one of it’s main streets all adorned with mermaids, seashell and turtles. 
    We liked this dog beach because compared to the other beach that they allowed dogs at, this one has so much more beach line to walk. 
    We did our regular trek, Nile crisscrossed between splashing in the water, back up the sandy beach and to the edge of the protected wildlife area where the dunes are peppered with grasses and brush and other various ground cover for the species that live there. 
    Back down to the water, sniff more sand, rinse and repeat. 
    I made mental note of how there was one rectangular diver of leftover water from high tide sitting off to itself, isolated with sand and how it almost looked like a pool sitting there where you have those making views of the ocean and site so it looks like you’re swimming in the ocean at some luxurious hotel. 
    As we wound down to be about 2/3 complete of the beach front trek where we get to the jetty, turn around and walk back own the beach line, I saw a couple, still silhouetted rather far out in the ocean. 
    I say rather far, as to how many feet away out it was but were about waste deep in water. 
    Two thoughts came over me at that moment. 
    The first was for them to hopefully be careful because there are sharks in that area, it is the shark bit capital of the World and to be at least cognizant of that fact with barely having any kind of daylight. 
    The second thought I had as we walked, I noticed how red the sky was becoming off in the distance I was hoping for one of those amazing and vibrant sunrises. 
    As we continued to walk, with the day edging more light ever so slightly with each minute that passed, the vivid skyline I was hoping for, didnt happen. 
    That was as colorful as we would get this day. 
    That red I wanted to become an amazing sunrise were already turning to orange an somewhat anticlimactic normal sunlight. 
    Nile and I moved closer to the jetty as we walked and we came upon that couple’s camp set up one the beach.     
    Two beach towels laid out, some containers with what looked like food and two more rolled up towels on one of the laid out beach towels, along with the guy’s shirt or tank top. I wasnt really paying that much attention to it all as I walked by. 
    But I did wonder how did they got ALL the way down the boardwalk, even if they started at the opposite end of the walk. It’s both about the same distance, the four cars in front of me pulling into the park, had just begun to unload their car and was no way they ran all that way and could have set up it all and be in the water well before me. 
    I wondered if they were there all night and maybe that’s how they had everything already to go set and were frolicking lovers in the water. 
    That shouldn’t be the case as they dont allow overnight beach activity in this area and thought patrolled it with the little John Deere like utility golf carts and the park maintenance folk who keep the beach clean. 
    I know they locked up the gates at night and there’s signs posted in parking lot about no over night parking and being towed if they did. 
    I didnt give it that much more thought as Nile and I reached the turnaround point a few feet away from the jetty and our feet and paws wading in the shallow water. 
    Nile really does love being the old, salty dog. 
    One old, twelve and half years old fellow that truly loves all water...except when it’s bath time. 
    Me, and my four legged side kick continued our walk back. 
    We past the couple’s beach setup of their possessions, and the point where the couple were in the water. 
    But they were nowhere to be found. I scanned the water from right to left and no where to be found. 
    They weren’t making playful noises like I heard when we first passed them on our left in the water. 
    There weren’t any screaming, shouting or any kind of commotion if there were an accidental shark bite. 
    As I walked past their little beach camp, and it was light enough to clearly see, that’s were were no foot prints leading to or away from the towels in the sand at all. 
    Not one heel print or anything. 
    Why? 
    There were tire tire tracks from the utility vehicle we passed on our walk. 
    But NO foot prints. 
    My conspiracy theory mind kicked in. 
    Was there a conspiracy going on here right here, right in front of my very own eyes? 
    Did the beach crew let them stay the night?

    Did the beach crew set the scene up? 
    Were the couple actually sea creatures or dwellers? 
    Like a mermaid and merman? 
    No foot prints in the sand. No guy and girl to be seen. No sounds being made from them and no indication from them whatsoever. 
    Their staged “personal” things set up and that was it. 
    Did they get attacked by sharks? 
    If so, why didnt I hear a word at all? 
    I saw a couple walking the furthest away from the water on the edge sand allowed to walk on before the protected wildlife area. 
    The had dried clothes on so it couldn’t be them. And they didn’t come from the direction that the couple I saw were in the water. 
    I continued to give a little more thought as Nile and I came up on a guy setting up two or three fishing poles for the morning. 
    Nile wanted to show off a tad bit in the water near the fisherman and I made small talk with him.
    I asked if he was form the area and said he was form Michigan and I wished him luck on catching something today. 
    I proceeded to give a brief synapsis of how this inter-coastal area has over 3000 different types of plant and marine life. 
    I wanted to say sea dwelllers too with the mysterious couples and how they just vanished. 
    Nile and kept walking the beach line and we came up on the old massive posts that sat in the middle of nowhere that were from an old dock or something. 
    When it was high tide, I would take photos of them and say how it looked like the went down to the water like it was the entrance to the lost city of Atlantis. 
    Could that be the truth? 
    Could it be buried so deep that the tapered height of the twelve posts of so really be what I imagined for three years each time Nile I walked past them? 
    Especially when it was high tide. 
    A couple vanished by daylight with no signs of them. A dock that leads to wherever it really does. 
    Did I start to put the pieces together of Atlantis and water people? 
    There are turtles, sharks, dolphins, jelly combs, crabs, osprey, seagulls, pelicans and the thousands of other species I have never seen. 
    Why would people who live under the sea be far fetched? 
    It is such a massive eco system and scientist always say how there’s so much of the ocean and the ocean floor they dont know about and just beginning to truly understand. 
    You can come up with some explanation of who and what these two were but I’m telling you I stumbled on sea dwellers, mermaids and mermen or what species we need to label them as. 
    I wanted to call the overnight paranormal radio show but that goes off air at 5am and it was already 7:30am 
    I think their belongings was just a facade to make it look human like and the maintenance people know the truth and keep their secret by setting that stuff up every now and then. 
    I never saw the two out of water so couldn’t see if they had tails or not. 
    And they just disappeared into thin air with no sound made indicating any kind of trouble or distress. 
    And maybe they tend to be more nocturnal due to having eyesight to see in and through the deep, dark depth of the ocean where very little light reaches. 
    And maybe that’s where the edge of the lost city of Atlantis really starts.