Imagery
Miami, 2016
I got to hold a baby alligator! It was surprisingly soft (I guess its scales haven’t had time to harden yet), and I could feel its body expand and contract as it breathed. Some of my fellow folklorists pronounced this holding of the animal “cruel,” and perhaps it was... but the little fellow didn’t seem too distressed, and I suspect he’s used to being held. So I took the opportunity to hold an alligator. Not sure if that makes me a bad person, but oh well.