A long time ago, well, just before Christmas in 1977, we decided to spend the holiday in Florida with our friends from the Assembly of God Church Camp in the area, Rex and Fran Irwin plus their daughter, Rhoda. It would be a different kind of holiday for us and our children,Tom, Anne and Elizabeth. After all, we had a new car. Why not take a trip? I-75 was a new superhighway, two lanes each way with a median between them. We expected to make it in record time. Yes, we did., but only because Rex Irwin drove like the wind and we had to keep up with him. We thought a new car was to be broken in gently, gradually increasing to normal driving speed. We had no idea where we would end up in Florida, so our only choice was to keep up. Rex sailed down the highway and so did we.

I remember turning in at the trailer park near Lakeland, Florida, just before dark. The Irwin trailer was the first one on the lane. Rex unlocked the door and turned on a light. What a surprise. Bugs ran in every direction Lot and lots of bugs. Many different kinds of bugs. We never saw them again. But then to sleep in that bug-infested trailer was challenge for me. The first day there we took a ride into Lakeland. There was a pond in the center of town with a fountain in the middle of it. Wooden planks led from shore to the fountain. Why? I don't know. Around, on and near them were alligators. Lots of them. Big ones and little gators.

That evening after dark, Anne and I took a stroll out and about in the trailer park. It was cool after the heat of the day. We walked out near a small lake, admiring the moonlit scene. Gators could be seen out on the water. Then we looked down at our feet. We were surrounded by youngsters, alligator youngsters. Lots of them. Somehow we avoided on stepping on any. Maybe we flew back to the trailer, not touching the ground. Maybe not, but we made it safely.

Now whenever i see a gator-bit person on television, I am reminded of that experience. We were lucky not to encounter mama or daddy gator in our mad dash to safety. Christmas had a new meaning for us that year.