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Today, while I was sitting at the reference desk, a fellow came up to me for help faxing something. When we had finished the fax, I said, “Forgive me. I studied linguistics when I was young, and I’m interested in accents. Where is your accent from?”
Carl explained that he had moved to Dallas from South Louisiana. He lived on a bayou with his parents and 10 sisters(!). When there were table scraps, Mamma would feed them to the big fat alligators. “They were friendly alligators,” Carl insisted.
Carl met Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson once, and told him, “People in Dallas aren’t friendly.” Mayor Johnson asked him “Where are you from?”
So, I’m not the only curious person out there. The Mayor and I both learned that one can find friends on the bayou… on the shores and in the water.
— Brad Hepp, February 9, 2023
