There are some wild tales that attach themselves to areas like the Bayou. Some are true. The Bayou has long been the scene of a few unusual events such as plane crashes, gator attacks and "Bayou Critters". The stories behind these are fodder for a different time. Others are purely fictional. These are yarns that abound in the dark corners of the brain and come spilling out the mouth when there is a willing and gullible victim...err...visitor. I have been known to stretch the truth, create illusions or otherwise embellish a story until it suits my needs. Keep in mind, that these tales are purely for entertainment and the listener is always clued in before they leave the Bayou. Storytelling is something that has run in the family for generations so I come by it naturally. Sometimes, however, a good story is just plopped into my lap purely by accident. What makes for a believable tale is an unaltered photograph. That is undeniable TRUTH right there! Fabricating a good story about a picture is simply a matter of a few twists and turns of the imagination.
With Halloween not far from being upon us, my thoughts have turned toward decorations. One of the illusions that has always fascinated me is called "Pepper's Ghost". It is a technique named for John Henry Pepper. By using reflective material, he would create "ghosts". This was used on stage and sideshows way back in the mid 1800s. I have always longed to create my own illusions using the technique but have yet to try. Until now. Now, I have my own "Pepper's Ghost" but just not the one that goes with the name.
A few months back, my son-in-law called with a "huge favor". He asked if I would mind keeping a cat for a few hours. He and my daughter had just adopted another "throwaway cat". Robbie had taken the cat to the vet for its shots and then had to go to work. Of course, the cat could not teach dance with him so I wound up babysitting the kitty. Pepper is a sweet kitten so that was not a problem. What was a problem was trying to get her to sit still long enough for me to photograph her. (I cannot resist a photo opportunity with any critter!) This kitten is rather active and was exploring the house as soon as Robbie left. My trying to catch her image was difficult. The photographs were all "ruined" because she was antsy. Ruined for most folks. Perfect for my imaginative tales.
I figure that I can use my cat photos to my advantage. The wiggling of the kitten made for the perfect "apparition" to be caught on camera! Not many folks can claim to have photographed a ghost! A tale of the ghostly cat has been rattling around in the brain for a few weeks now, so I am sure that some day soon, I shall not be able to hold the tongue and the tale will emerge in its full glory!
It is easy to be fooled at times. There is a small length of rope down near the marsh that, even though I know it is there, always makes me do a double take. Invariably, I think "Snake!". I get excited, pull up the camera ready to take that incredible photograph before I remember..."Oh, rope". The "Rope" just does not bring as much enthusiasm as "Snake" does. The snippet of rope catches me most every time and it is for that very reason that I do not fish it out of the marsh when I do cleanups of the place. The rope is innocuous and. for the most part, inconspicuous. It has become sort of a fixture and its absence would seem weird.
The rope being mistaken as a snake is the same as a log being confused as an alligator. With my bad eyesight (and failure to wear the spectacles), many of floating logs have been "identified" as the gator. Imagine my surprise when I find that I have spent twenty minutes getting the perfect shot of the all elusive log! Well, what happens with you have two "logs" floating out on the Bay? Surely one is the gator!
That happened recently. I spied two items floating out on the water and figured one had to be the gator. Usually, I can tell by watching and seeing which log is "swimming". Both were....at least, both were moving and moving in the same direction. Two gators? That was just too much to ask! And it was....not two gators...not two logs.
My two floaties were not two of the same even though their directional movement was similar. One gator and one large board were drifting just a few dozen feet apart. At least in this situation, I did not feel too embarrassed with my photograph. The gator is in the forefront of the photograph! Whew! Not a mistake this time...sort of....maybe! So, was the gator pretending to be a log? Or was the log pretending to be a gator?
