03059cam a2200661 i 4500 335487632 TxAuBib 20171213120000.0 151118s2015||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2015373938 9780008154219 hardcover $24.95 000815421X hardcover $24.95 (OCoLC)922982152 TxAuBib rda Hickam, Homer H., 1943- Carrying Albert home : the somewhat true story of a man, his wife, and her alligator / Homer Hickam. First edition. New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2015] ℗2015. xvii, 398 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier "This book is a work of fiction"--Title page verso. "The long-awaited prequel to the bestselling memoir Rocket Boys"--Jacket. Elsie Lavender and Homer Hickam (the father of the author) were high school classmates in the West Virginia coalfields, graduating just as the Great Depression began. When Homer asked for her hand, Elsie instead headed to Orlando where she sparked with a dancing actor named Buddy Ebsen (yes, that Buddy Ebsen). But when Buddy headed for New York, Elsie's dreams of a life with him were crushed and eventually she found herself back in the coalfields, married to Homer. Unfulfilled as a miner's wife, Elsie was reminded of her carefree days with Buddy every day because of his unusual wedding gift: an alligator named Albert she raised in the only bathroom in the house. When Albert scared Homer by grabbing his pants, he gave Elsie an ultimatum: "Me or that alligator!" After giving it some thought, Elsie concluded there was only one thing to do: Carry Albert home. 20171213. Man-woman relationships Fiction. Husband and wife Fiction. Alligators as pets Fiction. Alligators as pets Fiction. Automobile travel Fiction. Coal miners Fiction. Florida Fiction. West Virginia Fiction. Love Fiction. Alligators as pets. Automobile travel. Coal miners. Husband and wife. Man-woman relationships. Married people Fiction. Voyages and travels Fiction. Historical fiction. Florida. West Virginia. Road fiction. Biographical fiction. Domestic fiction. Fiction. Historical fiction. Humorous fiction. Love stories. Humorous fiction. Domestic fiction. Biographical fiction. Hickam, Homer H., 1943-