What's in the Water in Midland, Texas?

Written by John McElligott

Gypsy… the best rescue I ever made thanks to the “President Eisenhower Hole.”

I thought saving lives in Vietnam was something that would never be surpassed… until I was certifying an old Nuclear Power Plant for demolition.

Well, it was easy since the site was called “The Eisenhower Hole” and was deserted for years except for the two young men in their 30’s supervising, who met me in order to show me the facility and the hole.

My wife dropped me off at the site while she went shopping in a near by town. The two men were waiting for me and smoking cigarettes. They instructed me that we must go up 10 flights of stairs in order to inspect the entire facility bottom to top.

The men decided we could do a stair run to get up to the top to see the hole that caused the facility to shut down. Well, I took off running the stairs floor by floor. Then I noticed the two chaperones were barley keeping up. So, I waited and finally they caught up with me on the 5th floor. They were throwing up and out of breath. So, I told them to walk up, and I would meet them on the top of the building. An hour later, they finally made it to the top and were vomiting and had to lay down. I proceeded to inspect the top of the facility on my own and found the hole that shut down the facility. I was amazed how big and deep it was.

This hole was a definite hazard and I decided that it was not safe to even operate the facility even for simple storage. So, I left the two supervising men on the roof and got a ride to the nearest roadside gas station and called my wife, Lisa.

Well… Lisa had found a dog pound that had hundreds of dogs barking and wanting out of the facility. Being a dog lover, I was mad and did not like how the facility operated.  I requested to see the black poodle they were giving away and I was rushed since I was sick to see how the dogs were housed and treated.

We sat down and the owner brought in a small black dog and set the pet on the floor next to me. Well… I looked down and the dog looked up and it was love at first site on my part. The small dog just gazed into my eyes, and I grabbed her and took off to the car and left my wife to work out the details.

I carried to black poodle to the car, and she was shaking badly, having been in a cage for the last 7 years and was she was used for breading purposes only. My temper was at a level that made me feel like I was exploding every time the dog looked at me.

Well as soon and we got home Gypsy (new name) took off from the car and it took us hours to find her in the bushes, but we did finally and put her back in her cage. We left the door open, but she never came out for several weeks or more and avoided contact with me or Lisa.

This lasted for a few months and then one day Gypsy looked at me and we have been joined at the hip ever since. We sleep together when I am home, and I have never loved a pet this much since my dog Roof.

Not a day or night goes by that Gypsy and I don’t make “Eye to Eye Contact” and it Makes My Heart Throb!!!