Back in 1988 at our Rendevouz up near Lake City, we who attended were treated to something you could only appreciate if you were there. Ole "Bull Gator" cooked us up some of his secret fixins called "Bull Gator Tail Stew". Now if you missed rendevouz you missed it pardner. Now Ole Bull Gator also known as Sr. Commander Dennis Helms of Outpost 110 in Rockledge is kinda picky about who knows his recipes. But for some reason he was convinced to tell us how it is made. We found Bull Gator throwin his hawk just for practice.

Well cuz, firstin thin yall need adoin is geetin yall a real close type true friend liken ole "Gray Buffalo" (Walt Monroe). Fer ya see, onlyst one pair of hand aint agonna make no stew. Nextn ya need yourself an ole mule named "Bessie", yep gots to be named Bessie cause theys the meanest. Now ya rides ole Bessie followin the sun tills ya can't go no further. Then yas turn to the direction the moss grows on the cypress. For yall Yankees thats Nort. Now ya needs ta follow the shoreline for about four hubdret miles or so till yall comes to the Bayou country. Yall need to find a log thats a pointin along the track of the sun. Set yourself down on the South side and take offin yer left moccasin. Be saure that yall donna take the right one instead, causin it aint agonna work nohow, lessin course yall onlyst got one foot anyways then it aint gonna make no never mind.

Now dangle yalls foot in the ole blak water bout ups to the knee bone, and wiggle them there toes real good like. Now ifn yall feel a good hard tug and you pulls back a stub, well cuz that ones a too big anyways. So switch foots and try gain. This time trin and gts one bout five to six foot. Thems the ones taste good and tender like. Now after yall gits ole mister gator up on the shore tells him to roll over sos ya can rub his belly and puts him to sleep. After been asnorin a good bit like git out yer butcher knife and whack off his tail. Now ifn hes a lite sleeper he might jest wake up a mite, then ahens it might not. Pends how well ya rubbed his belly. Reel qwick like ya needs to throw that there tail across Bessie's back, jump uo dere yerself and ride, ride,ride. Keepin the settin sun on yer rite side. Head fer ole "Mudcat's"(Barry Blount) camp and fer a sizeable chunk of that ole gator tail he mightn jest give yall somea his mamas secret fixin spices.

Yall head back home now and cut that ole tail meat into leetle chunks bout long as yer first knuckle on yer right thumb finger. Flopa them in some vegetible oils and some swamp watter and frys them bouts six coughs and two wheezins, guess that be bouts 5 or 6 minutes fer ya city slickers. Put yer fixins in the pot and add the tail, bout twenty minutes and its adone. Now rings the dinner bell...

Now I'm sure you didn't think ole Bul Gator was going to really tell us his real secrets did you? But ifn yall cmes to a Rendevouz and yall smells sonthin reeeel good like, maybe Bull Gator will let you have a heapin bowl of "Bull Gator Tail Stew". See Ya Cuz !