\u201cAnd Lord, please protect us tonight from dogs and cops…\u201d The prayer was suddenly interrupted by a whispered voice. \u201cPssst, don\u2019t forget the bats,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the bats, Lord, protect us from them as well. Amen!\u201d Jimmy Curtrell added. He was the much adored music director of Gulfport\u2019s First Baptist Church during the 70\u2019s. \u201cNow, let\u2019s shake a leg and get a move on.\u201d And with that, a caravan of cars filled with teenagers and kids home from college roared down Interstate 10 toward its destination.<\/p>\n
Turning south on the Delisle exit, the cars came to a slow crawl as they entered a towering, pillared entrance. Beyond it a dark winding path snaked its way through the woods. The drivers turned off their car lights but kept driving down the path. The evening silence was softened by a springtime symphony of chirping crickets and bellowing frogs. But in the distance barking dogs could be heard.<\/p>\n
The cars slowed to a stop. The riders got out. Their trail through the woods was hampered by tangled weeds and vicious vines. They stumbled into a clearing, and there, glistening in the silvery moonlight, was their destination.<\/p>\n