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Ivan Ehlers

Op-comic: An alligator? In Los Angeles? In this economy?

By Ivan EhlersGuest contributor 
In June 2005, my brothers and I bought my dad a remote-control boat. He started taking it on the weekends to Machado Lake.
One day, he came back home significantly more excited than usual. "There's an alligator in Machado Lake!"
We all assumed it had to be something else. A catfish, a snake, a piece of floating trash....
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Later, reports appeared of an alligator in Machado Lake. Word spread that it was kept illegally, got too big and was dumped.
The gator, now named "Reggie," sparked a frenzy. News teams, professional gator trappers and onlookers surrounded the lake.
Reggie went missing for 18 months, then one day reappeared. He was caught by wranglers and moved to the L.A. Zoo.
When I visit the zoo, I think of my dad seeing Reggie before anybody else knew. It almost feels like visiting an old friend.
It's no surprise so many fell in love with Reggie: He landed in a strange place, struggled, but found home. Sounds familiar?
It's comforting to remember that sometimes the fantastic tales our parents tell us actually end up being true.
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Ivan Ehlers is a cartoonist, writer and illustrator in San Pedro. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker and MAD Magazine and is working on his first picture book. @ivan_ehlers

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