When I was young my family would often vacation at Gulf Shores Alabama nearly every summer. This particular year I was focused on getting over my fears of the ocean. With sharks on the Discovery Channel and the imagination of a young boy the ocean seemed like a pretty scary place. Eventually I got used to the surf and found myself splashing around in the rolling waves. That is until I saw a large creature hovering in the shallow water. With about two large leaps I was back on the beach observing it. An older man walked by and noticed my sister and I investigating the waters. The black man, in a thick southern drawl, asked us what we were looking at. We described the fish as it crept up and back in the shallow water. The old man showed a sign of recognition as he explained that it was a baby Doper. How could this creature, a full 18" wide be a baby anything I thought. We continued to prod the old man for more information asking if it had teeth, or some kind of posionous stinger. The black man smiled as here reiterated, "it's a baby Doper". We continued to show signs of confusion while he clarified. "You know, what the mamas but on the babies."
