By: Felicia Naoum
“I must be crazy!” -JK
NORDONIA HILLS —
If someone said, “That thing could have whipped around and killed you,” I still would’ve done that! There was no fear. My voice raised like 4 octaves; it was like Christmas morning, like a present. It was such a captivating moment. It was a beautiful day; we were in Mexico, we were golfing and a 12-foot crocodile comes crawling out of the water – it definitely hit my top 10 list in my life.” –Joe Kirchner
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A note from the author:
After learning of Joe’s encounter in Mexico, I knew I had to talk to him. People will always hear me say inspiration is my angle. All of my stories hold a piece that will inspire anyone…if they allow it.
With this story, I wanted our readers to live on the edge, be daring, and seek adventure, just as Joe did. I’ve learned how freeing it is to be fearless. My hope is that our readers take this story and run with it. Do something you never thought you could or would do. Actually, do what scares you.
It doesn’t have to be something as “wild” as encountering life in the wild. Perhaps, it’s changing your life in a way that will make you happier: taking on a hobby you’re afraid to try; speaking up about something that’s eating away at you; ditching that toxic person who brings more negativity than positivity. Whatever it may be, go ahead and do it; be fearless.
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair
-Felicia
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[dropcap color=”#237a41″]I[/dropcap]f anyone has been on an adventurous streak since his high school days, it’s this man: Joe Kirchner, a Bedford High School Alumni (Class of 1988), who has encountered many things in his life – a crocodile was not on the list but he’s so glad it happened. “I was completely fascinated. I was probably five percent scared and 95 % fascinated that I had a chance of a lifetime to touch a crocodile in its habitat,” exclaimed Joe.
When what most consider a dangerous opportunity arises, Joe doesn’t run, he faces it, head on and with no regrets.
November 4th, 2016 wasn’t an ordinary day on the golf course for Joe and his wife – they were vacationing in Mexico at the luxurious Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf and Spa Report, which Joe described as “Hands down the most beautiful course I have ever been in my entire life”. The day was lustrous; the sun, luminous, and who was waiting around the corner – was about to rock Joe’s world: a 12-foot crocodile named Coco.
Before encountering Coco, Joe saw warning signs everywhere. The golf cart was full of stickers that read: Be careful of the mangroves because there are crocodiles in there. Please do not feed them. If you do not feed them, they will leave you alone. At this point, Joe felt the chances of seeing a crocodile were remote.
Joe has a risk-taking nature because he shared with me that he was on the hunt for crocs from the beginning. “The whole time we were golfing, we were looking for them.”
It didn’t take long for wildlife and Mr. Kirchner to meet at the 8th hole. “There was a water hazard on the right side of the fairway (the shallow part of the water). I looked over to my wife and said, “Look there’s one! It was sunbathing in the shallow part of the water; all you could see was eyes and a nose sticking out,” added Joe. And that was just enough for Joe’s wife to yell, “Get away! Get away from it!” The only direction Joe was running was towards the crocodile. “I had to get a picture of it,” said Joe!
“This was the one on the 8th hole sunbathing.” -JK
The 9th hole only got better. Two groundskeepers were raking dead palm leaves out of the sand traps. These two groundskeepers walked away so Joe could hit his ball. It didn’t take long for one of the groundskeepers to ask Joe if he wanted to see a crocodile. Joe shared with the groundskeepers that he did see a crocodile at the 8th hole. But these groundskeepers had an up close and personal experience awaiting for Joe; not just a photo captured in the distance.
Joe is fearless thus he proceeded to follow the groundskeepers. One of the groundskeepers did not speak English, and this particular groundskeeper is the one who practically raised the crocodile Joe was about to meet – the aforementioned Coco. This groundskeeper explained to Joe that his co-worker is so comfortable with Coco that he sometimes swims in the water with her; however, he does not encounter Coco when his friend/co-worker is not present. Talk about fearless.
One of the groundskeepers had a plastic bag in his hand. All this groundskeeper had to do was kneel down and ruffle the plastic bag for the 12ft, beauty, Coco to arise. Joe’s first words: “No, you’re kidding me!”
“Look at those pearly whites!” -JK
At Secrets Playa Mujeres, all of the groundskeepers are assigned a hole. These two gentlemen have been working this hole for 7 years. They have been present since Coco was born and they named her.
The groundskeeper made Joe feel at ease as he explained to him that he could touch the tail. “I’ll keep it distracted by the face if you want to walk around and pick up the tail.” Eagerly, Joe walked around and picked up the tail. No wonder Joe was so calm, because the crocodile was, too.
“Are you sure this is safe?” -JK
Joe shared specific details of the life-changing encounter. “The crocodile was very calm. It moved a little bit when I picked up the tail and it curled the tail a little bit and it started to move its arm back. It was so heavy and strong and muscular,” shared Joe. Further, Joe explained, “It was such a strong tail. I didn’t know until after I got back to the resort that that’s how they kill people; they whip their tail around.”
In the meantime, Joe’s wife had to go! “She touched the tail, put a finger on it, and ran away,” said Joe!
“My wife wanted no part of it!” – JK
