There was an alligator that met its end suddenly at the business end of a twenty-two wielded by a cane cutter fighting for life and limb. And even though the cutlass-wielding cane cutter lost half the battle that day, no one felt that there was any shame in this, and all who knew the story gave him much respect and celebrated his name in song and story for his valiant victory; and his missing leg was a badge of honor. This was good for a time, as these things go.

Then reports began to come in and spread around about a gashed up, slashed up, chopped up alligator wandering along Canal Road, coming from the direction of the cane fields, its head turning here and there and about as in a hunt for prey. Now, an alligator wandering along Canal Road would be a strange and terrifying sight under normal circumstances, as it wasn't the type of thing that most people expected to see on a peaceful evening walk. And so it caused more than the usual stir as details of the alligator sightings made the rounds quickly through the usual sources who could be counted on to spread news about quickly.

Elmont Memorial High School (EMHS) students were so remarkable tonight, that any description of this experience could easly elicit disbelief.  In a word, the performances were phenomenal. Tomorrow is an encore presentation and I encourage everyone to attend.  You will be entertained, inspired and you will be proud to be a resident of this community.  Remember to visit the online photo gallery for images of this and other Elmont events. Post your comments here if you attended, click on events for information about tomorrow's (March 6, 2010) performance, and again we will post more photos on Sunday.

The Preacher's Dozen is a book about a preacher (John Phillips), his wife (Pearl), their twelve children, and their journey from the projects in the island of Trinidad to the United States where they achieved the American dream through education and faith in God. It is a story of hope, victory, deliverance and triumph.

The story is told by John's daughter, Wendy G.D. Phillips, who compiled and adapted John's memoirs to weave together this beautiful and incredible story.  The book not only tells the story John asked his daughter to write before he died, but it also memorializes the family's history for future generations.