When I was small my father told me a story about the baby alligator he had when he was a boy.  My Grandfather decided at some point that the alligator could no longer reside with them, so my dad told me that he flushed it down the toilet (I am assuming like you would flush a goldfish.)  He ended his story with his usual fun and sarcastic wit, pointing out that the alligator was probably still alive and living well in the Baltimore sewer system. 

Being a child that was growing up enriched by Michael Angelo and Leonardo, (Ninja Turtles that is) that was completely conceivable to me.  If pizza eating mutant turtles could live in the sewers below the city and kung fu fight bad guys like Be Bop and Rock Steady, then sure, his alligator could still be alive. 

So what effect did this have on me?  What life lesson was buried deep inside my father’s, shall we say different, childhood tale?  To this very day, I always look before I sit; you never know where an alligator could be lurking, waiting to bite your tushie.