Alligator on the Sidewalk (?!?)

In teaching, you never know.

Today, for me, it was alligator on the sidewalk.

Mid-morning, I was in the hallway that exits to the baseball field. I was collecting aluminum cans, which I do daily in order to leave them by my driveway for a special needs neighbor to collect each morning, like many of my neighbors do.

The students happened to be on a break prior to taking an exam, so the hallways became crowded. I thought I would wait it out by seeking cans in the quiet outside, behind the hallway and next to the baseball field.

Upon exiting the building and turning to walk on the sidewalk between the building and the rear of the visitor’s dugout, I saw a 4-foot alligator facing me 20 feet away on the sidewalk, just as still as could be.

I thought it was a prank. This could not be real.