Behind The Photo - Don't Feed The Alligators

Jul 20

Jul 20 Behind The Photo - Don't Feed The Alligators

This photo above brought back these memories...

Years ago, a group of friends & I rented a log cabin for the weekend. It was out in a secluded area of Cleveland, Texas. The cabin sat on the edge of a lake & had a deck that was over the water. There was lots of trees, wildlife everywhere, & absolutely no cell phone reception, TV service, or internet. It was the perfect getaway.

On the first day there, we decided to grill out on the deck. As we cooked, we saw an alligator peek its head from beneath the water about 25 yards from us. I turned to my friend who was out there with me & told him not to feed it, as I remembers seeing signs on the drive up to the cabin that said "Don't Feed The Alligators." I looked away for one second & then, it was too late.

I turned back to see a piece of fajita flying through the air, heading in the direction of the alligator. As soon as the fajita hit the water, the alligator was there to pounce on it.

I was way more cautious after that. I made sure that no alligator got fed again. We finished up grilling & headed inside the cabin to eat with the rest of the group.

After we ate, we all wanted to go outside & explore the area. But, we came across a problem. When we opened the door, we found a huge alligator at our doorstep. It stared up at us & you could tell it was still hungry. We were trapped.

Stuck inside, we ran through our options. The only way out of the cabin was through that front door & that alligator was not moving. Someone was going to have to sacrifice themselves to fight the alligator for us to get out.

Luckily, we didn't have to resort to that plan. We outlasted the alligator. It gave up & headed back in the water before any one of us went out there. We were free & everyone lived.

So, when you see a sign that says "Don't Feed The Alligators," it means don't feed the alligators. They will come looking for more food.

- Michael Macedo

P.S. Alligators love fajita.