It was a dark and stormy night............and the Komodo Dragons arrived at the doorstep.

     Standing at the Starbucks counter with elegant gift-card in hand I proclaim my order with confidence and alacrity. "I will have a large black Komodo Dragon." The only reason I ordered the Komodo Dragon Coffee is because it's called the Komodo Dragon. The Komodo Dragon is a subject that has stricken fear deep into my soul since I was small child. Standing in line I'm transported back in time. Now I'm a small child, sitting in the floor of my bedroom. My weekly reader is spread across the floor and I'm madly devouring the written word like a glutton, at the Chef Len Chinese Buffet & Massacree. I gorge myself on the words and pictures that tell stories about lands far off and exotic. Lands far from the comforts of the Cumberland Plateau and home. In this issue, there are dragons. Komodo Dragons to be exact.

     These Dragons are inhabitants of the Far East. They can weigh as much as 150lbs and dominate everything and everyone they encounter. These gigantic lizards are the largest and most fearsome of the Reptile Kingdom. Don't make eye contact, don't even try cause they will devour you. I was and still am scared to death of these fell creatures of the orient. It is said, that if you were to be bitten by the Komodo Dragon you would die of infection within a few very painful, horrifying days.

If you think that perchance I'm being mischievous or taking liberties with the truth, listen to what these experts have to say.

Auffenberg described the Komodo dragon as having septic pathogens in its saliva (he described the saliva as "reddish and copious"), specifically the bacteria E. coli, Staphylococcus sp., Providencia sp., Proteus morgani, and P. mirabilis. He noted, while these pathogens can be found in the mouths of wild Komodo dragons, they disappear from the mouths of captive animals, due to cleaner diets and the use of antibiotics. This was verified by taking mucous samples from the external gum surfaces of the upper jaws of two freshly captured individuals. Saliva samples were analyzed by researchers at the University of Texas, who found 57 strains of bacteria growing in the mouths of three wild Komodo dragons, including Pasteurella multocida. The rapid growth of these bacteria was noted by Fredeking: "Normally it takes about three days for a sample of P. multocida to cover a Petri dish; ours took eight hours. We were very taken aback by how virulent these strains were". This study supported the observation that wounds inflicted by the Komodo dragon are often associated with sepsis and subsequent infections in prey animals. How the Komodo dragon is unaffected by these virulent bacteria remains a mystery.

     After learning about these far eastern dragons and having seen one too many episodes of "Land of the Lost" coupled with reading nothing but books about Dinosaurs for the first 5 years of my reading life I was filled with a fear that perhaps these all too real animals could be living next door, or under my bed. It was like when you first learned about quicksand. Suddenly at any moment you could find your self trapped in your sand box being swallowed alive in six inches of sand. You laugh, but I swear to you on  all that is holy it happened to me at least a  dozen times one Saturday afternoon. Suddenly, I saw dragons everywhere. I had to have contingency plans. Could the climb stairs? The roof I needed to be on the roof, it was too easy for Mr. Drooling Komodo Dragon to climb into my bed and devour me as a midnight snack. Luckily I had a tree-house. There I would be safe and secure, but I would need supplies. Water, C-Rations (this was the early 1980's MRE's wouldn't be available for a few years), and Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies.

     Luckily, I told my mom. Mom then proceeded to allay and sooth my notions. Mom took all my fear and turned them on their head. She showed me quite plainly that Komodo Dragons live in Indonesia and various small islands in the South Pacific. They do not live in Cowan, Tennessee. And no, they cannot build giant bamboo canoes and immigrate to Cowan. Under no uncertain terms will there ever be large drooling infectious lizards prowling the corn fields around your house plotting to eat you.

I pay for my Large Black Komodo Dragon Coffee and marvel at the way simple things can completely take me to far off lands and bring me back home again.

Sources for Dragon Info:

Auffenberg, Walter (1981). The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida. p. 406.

Montgomery, JM; Gillespie, D; Sastrawan, P; Fredeking, TM; Stewart, GL (2002). "Aerobic salivary bacteria in wild and captive Komodo dragons". Journal of wildlife diseases 38 (3): 545–51.

Cheater, Mark (August–September 2003). "Chasing the Magic Dragon". National Wildlife Magazine (National Wildlife Federation)