I Wish I Had Been There

12-13-05
It has been a busy week here in Baytown and it seems only to be getting busier. My preacher/elder/boss/buddy/teaching partner/fellow blog enthusiast/Obi Wan Kenobi, David, decided to bug out of Baytown for a little vacation time so I am left with some extra duties this week. I hope the building is standing when he gets back. I make no promises. So, being forced to make this blog brief, I decided to post my vote for "News Story of 2005". I realize that this has been a year full of controversy, unparalleled disaster, pleasant surprises (My Astros made it to the World Series), and life-changing tragedy (the Nick/Jessica split still has me destroyed). However, there was one picture that caught my eye and never let go. So, without further ado. Here is my News Story of 2005:
Unfortunately for a 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python in Florida's Everglades National Park, eating the enemy seems to have caused the voracious reptile to bust a gut—literally. Wildlife researchers with the South Florida Natural Resources Center found the dead python last week after it apparently tried to digest a 6-foot-long (2-meter-long) American alligator. The mostly intact dead gator was found sticking out of a hole in the midsection of the python, and wads of gator skin were found in the snake's gastrointestinal tract. The gruesome discovery suggests that the python's feisty last meal might have been too much for it to handle. Clashes between alligators and pythons have been on the rise in the Everglades for the past 20 years. Unwanted pet snakes dumped in the swamp have thrived, and the Asian reptile is now a major competitor in the alligator's native ecosystem. (See "Huge, Freed Pet Pythons Invade Florida Everglades.") "Clearly if [pythons] can kill an alligator, they can kill other species," Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, told the Associated Press. "There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons. … This [event] indicates to me it's going to be an even draw."
So, I know all of you will want to make this picture your wallpaper. Go right ahead. I mean, come on, is there really any other choice for news story of the year. I know that some of you might be thinking, "Oh, he made that up and Photo Shopped the picture." To you I say thank you for the confidence but I can't even figure out how to blur out my unsightly double chin and believe me I've tried. The other way you can know that I did not create this picture is that I would not have had a dead alligator sticking out of the python. It would have been either Toby Keith or Paris Hilton...or maybe both.
Have a great day and please don't release your Burmese Pythons into the wild. The alligators would appreciate it.
Feel free to offer your favorite bizarre news story of the year, decade, or century.