|
2012-06-17 tl;dr: Saw alligators. Met a game warden. Talked like a Yankee. And camped in a prohibited area of Choctaw NWR. I saw my first alligator for this trip. Then I saw several more. I also met my first game warden. I had been anticipating this for weeks, but he didn't give me the hard time I was prepared for. In fact, he seemed to recognize that I wasn't local trouble just as soon as I opened my mouth, and he was quite friendly. He told me there were also bears around here, and once I get south of Jackson, "Don't stop. Every time I go down there I put somebody in jail."While digging through my gear I found my flashlight. It was never lost. I just never ever use it. In fact, I haven't camped with any sort of light in weeks. I even shut off my cell phone at night to preserve the battery. So why do I even carry this thing? Emergency gear, I suppose. Occasionally, folks call out to me from a boat or beach. "War you from? You're not frem aroun' here, cause you talk like a Yankee." True enough, although I've found myself attempting to drawl out a little more, so folks aren't so jarred every time I open my mouth. Fortunately, as my dialect is pretty close to Hollywood-standard, nobody has a hard time understanding me. Now if what I just wrote didn't sound discriminating, maybe what I'm about to write won't either. I have noticed something odd over the years: In general, the farther south I travel, understanding white people becomes more difficult, and understanding black people actually becomes easier. I don't know why. I kayaked by a sign in the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge expressly prohibiting camping and set up camp back in the woods--a very mosquito infested woods. Well, at least there aren't biting ants. Oddly enough, it has been days since I was last bitten by an ant. Some of the bites are even starting to heal. There is a hornet here, though, that just hovers and stares at me. |
 sunrise over my shoulder  first alligator  why do I even have a flashlight?   mile marker 137   Camping PROHIBITED  so let me camp |