Alligator Encounter - 2000

In Lake City, Florida there is a place where an old man

raises alligators.

In the year 2000, I was there.

I posed with this statue.

I posed with the real life alligator that Tarzan wrestled with in the shows I watched as a kid. The "alligator man" showed us the hole in his snout, which was used some way to keep his trap shut during the filming. He moved quite slowly as he was very old.

I still can't believe I got that close to a real live alligator. The "alligator man" would not even get close to this one though. He had some baby ones inside a building that he was showing us and they were only about 6 inches long. He asked if I wanted to hold one, so I thought it would be one of these little babies. He left the room and came back with this "cutie".

I said, "Are you sure?"

He said this one was very tame. He takes it to schools and does talks, etc. He put him on my arm and instructed me to rub him on the back of the neck. Actually I don't know if it was a he or she. I smiled and through my teeth said, "Theron, take the picture quick. No one will believe this unless I have a picture."

Now that was a close encounter!