Jaws Cajun style? Well, alligators have jaws, don\’t they?

I ride along the Mississippi River levee. The water still quite high; and the backwater, I\’ve learned, has alligators!

Last Friday is the first time I saw one. I heard an odd, raspy sound, and wondered what it was; and I saw what looked like an amber/orange reflector in the water. I kept glancing at it, and then noticed a large, dark shape in the water. It was barely starting to get light, but I\’m certain it was an alligator that I saw.

You know how it is: start keeping watch for something, and you see it all over the place. This morning, over a stretch of two miles or so, I spotted five of those \”reflectors\” in the water!

I wouldn\’t dare to try paddling around that backwater in a pirogue, now that I know what\’s in there. In fact, I\’d rather keep well away. While I\’m riding, I keep looking to be sure there isn\’t a gator approaching the bike path.

Keeping a lookout for such hazards is another good argument for using a headlight. Suppose a gator decides to sprawl itself athwart the path? Without a good light I might not see it in time. I don\’t want to have my bicycle chomped in two, much less my leg.

The ocean isn\’t the only place where you have to watch out for Jaws. Here it\’s simply Jaws Cajun style.