Jesse, the hero!

Jesse and I had had enough of rides for the day. So while the rest of the gang went on one last ride, Jesse and I decided to sit it out and rest our tired, hot feet. We sat on a bench next to a couple and didn't pay much attention to them. After a few minutes an employee of Busch Gardens came over with a long extending pole with a brush at the end. It was the kind you've seen around for pools. And then he starts trying to get something out of the tree. Well, never having been one to let curiosity kill me, I asked the couple what was going on. It turns out that it was a passport/military ID of the man sitting on the bench. He'd had it on one of those tags around the neck and off it flew during the ride. Now it was sitting waaaaaaaaay up in the top of the tree and it was so nondescript amongst the leaves and shadows I was amazed the couple had found it in the first place.

But the tree was too tall and the pole was too short. I told Jesse to shimmy up that tree to get this guys passport. And he did a bang up job. There were no branches on the lower end of it and he had to hug it up and climb it like a monkey.

But the employee told him he had to get down.

And the pole was still too short.

Finally, after numerous failed attempts at retrieving the passport, I got up and went over to the employee and said, listen. I've got an idea. Why don't you go for a walk and talk to whomever about how you've got a problem over here. Leave the pole. Jesse shimmies up the tree while you're gone and when you get back the problem will be solved. So he did.

And Jesse climbed the tree, we handed him the pole, and after a few pokes out came the passport.

Now before you're thinking, what the hell was that guy doing carrying that stuff around with him at an amusement park let me explain. Being military he, not only got into the park for free, but he also got continued favors at the concession stands.
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