Isla Files 2.5

Iguanas or gekkos. Which do I find the most fascinating? I must admit that even within these reptiles I have my favorites. But how to choose a species? Allow me to introduce you to the contestants.
Kitchen Gekko. This small gekko lives behind the refrigerator and stealthily roams the kitchen looking for mosquitoes, tiny flies, and even tinier ants. She barks at us if we stay up too late of if we don’t remember to turn the lights off. I imagine that she is a mother. Who else would care how late we stay up?
Garden Gekko. A guy surely, this gekko hangs in the basil outside and stealthily goes about his business. He can hang motionless on the most slender stalk of aloe vera if he thinks we have spotted him. Is he shy or just looking for an opening in the screen so that he can come in and visit the Kitchen?
The Evel Gekkivo, the daring gekko of Builiding B. He continually defies the odds by leaping from the second story window box with grackles in hot pursuit. He spreads his gekko body in free-fall. You can almost hear him scream “Look, ma! No hands!”
Guan Jose, truly the father of the tribe. While bigger iguanas live on other parts of the island, Guan has his turf clearly marked. He lives under the bodega and comes out to chat with Jose Luis and Nellie if they want for company in the store. His toe nails are massive but he has lost part of his tail in some long ago battle.
Junior, a smaller less regal image of his father. He lives in a crack in the wall by the bodega and is constantly wary. They don’t call iguanas “Mexican chickens” for nothing. The passing workers look at him hungrily.
Donna Guana, a silly goose of an iguana. She lives under the sidewalk near our building. She hides under the step if she thinks you have spotted her. Sometimes her tails is still sticking in the air, in plain view. Doesn’t she feel the draft?
Guard Guan, the keeper who lives by the gate. She keeps tabs on the comings and goings of the compound and is quick to relay the choicest bit of new gossip. "Did you see what that woman in 1-A was wearing today? I’d make more of an effort if I were her. Have you seen her cute husband?”
Elvis, the big guy in the storm drain up the road. He surely has been having late night snacks of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. His suit is stretched tight. His pompador full and flowing. He just needs a microphone and some rings. You can hear him singing “Don’t be cruel” late at night.