My Louisiana

I entered a contest earlier this week from the Louisiana tourism people. I had to write a short essay about my experience in Louisiana. If I win I get two tickets to the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and two nights' stay in Harrah's hotel. Here's what I submitted, including a picture of the scrapbook page to prove it all happened.

My Louisiana has kissable alligators! Not long ago I spent several months in Ville Platte, a small speck on the map between Eunice and Opelousas. One afternoon my friends and I planned a jaunt up the highway to a local alligator farm. It was our lucky day! We just happened to visit on the day the alligators were hatching from their eggs. Each of us handled the little reptiles; so small and innocent yet with razor-sharp teeth. One of my friends attached the alligators to his earlobes like earrings, using their teeth to anchor them on. Let’s just say he was fortunate to still have earlobes when he finally pulled them off. I wasn’t so brave as that but I did plant a kiss on the baby alligator I held, carefully avoiding the claws and teeth. As our visit came to an end we walked down the lane past the swamp where the grown alligators live. They must have smelled our blood as we sauntered by because a dozen ferocious creatures suddenly rose from their hiding places in the mud and scrambled up to the run-down chain link fence as fast as their short legs could carry them. Luckily, they had been fed only the day before or that old wire fence might not have held them back. What an amazing afternoon at the alligator farm that day. One of my favorite stories to tell now is all about the day I kissed an alligator—it usually gets many inquisitive looks!


Cross your fingers and toes and wish very hard that I win and maybe I'll let you come along with me!