Category: Orphans

These were the largest alligators I saw Sunday at the Texas Gator Fest in Anahuac, Texas. I saw some baby alligators which the parks people were letting the kids pet (since the little gators’ snouts were taped shut). But I don’t know where they were keeping the big gators.

This annual celebration of the alligator is due to the fact that Anahuac rests among the marshes bordering Trinity Bay. The official Texas Gator Fest Web site pointed out that the Texas Legislature named Anahuac the “Alligator Capital of Texas” because gators “outnumbered humans 3-to-1.” It also was probably the last time the Legislature turned out a notable accomplishment.

Of course, the festival provided ample opportunities to buy some delicacies such as fried gator on a stick, boiled gator on a fork and gator gravy in a ladle. The latter two I just kind of made up, but I bet they don’t taste anything like chicken.

The real reason my friend Sarah and I made the trip to Gator Fest in Anahuac, located off I-10 between Houston and Beaumont, was really less about alligators and more about hearing Robert Earl Keen (below) play.

Truthfully, I don’t know how popular Robert Earl is outside of Texas but he has a very loyal and hardcore following here especially among his fellow Texas Aggies. He has not achieved the stature of his college pal Lyle Lovett. But I have the feeling he does okay for himself. Keen, who is part story-teller-troubadour-bullshitter, put on a great show despite it being so hot people were on the verge of spontaneous combustion.

Robert Earl also looked as if he was enjoying himself. That’s usually a good sign for the audience. I know I had a good time.

Don’t shake hands with Fred Clewer. Static electricity from the Australian man burned a hole in the carpet of a local business in Warrnambool, Victoria, more than 3/4 of an inch in diameter, according to Associated Press.

“It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that,” Clewer told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. about his entering the business. “Within say around five minutes the carpet started to erupt.”

Fire officials said Clewer had built up about 30,000 volts of electricity in his jacket during a walk around town. He reportedly scorched a piece of plastic in his car after he left the building whose carpet he burned.

This alarms me somewhat because I used to have a bad static electricity problem. It was more pronounced when I lived in the drier climate of Central Texas. But during the less humid times of the year I would shock the crap out of myself getting in and out of cars or opening the door at work. I used to spray myself with some kind of anti-static spray that helped somewhat. I also grounded myself with my vehicle key before touching something metallic that might shock me. I’ve had bright, lightning-like sparks fly between the key and the door that were probably 1/8 of an inch long.

I’d really hate to walk into someone’s home and start a fire on their rug. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

I can’t help but wonder just how much of a letdown this blog must be sometimes for readers who find it through a search engine. My StatCounter page tells me the referring page of those visiting my site. I noticed one visitor today from Egypt who found my blog through a MSN search. That reader was seeking:

“very sexy feet”

Now one would think that with a blog named eight feet deep I would have some decent feet shots, wouldn’t one? Actually, no. My apologies to all those out there with a fetfootish who wander into EFD.

President Bush continued Friday to accept responsibility for government missteps in what some see as a “flood of culpability.” After two days of shouldering the responsibility for the federal government’s subpar response to Hurricane Katrina, Bush also said he was taking the rap for Sherman’s March to the Sea, the Great Chicago Fire and the Hindenburg Disaster.

“He’s never admitted blame nor taken responsibility for anything in his life. It’s like New Orleans, once the flood gates are open there’s no stopping him,” a top White House official said on the condition of anonymity. “I think he’s bound and determined to take responsibility for all the ills of this country.”

White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters at their daily briefing that the president was considering other government failures for which he could hold himself accountable. However, McClellan said the president stopped short of claiming responsibility for Gen. Sherman’s “bed hair” in the above photograph.

Not to be outdone, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, D-La., announced she accepts responsibility for the great 1927 Louisiana flood, the assassination of politician Huey P. Long, a poor crawfish market in 1956 and the potholes on Hwy. 190 outside of Ville Platte.