Alligator Lizards in the Air

I just learned "Ventura Highway" on my guitar and I got to thinking, when was the last time anybody saw an alligator lizard in the air? I used to see these little creatures that looked a little like alligators, a little like lizards, maybe a centimeter long if that, who landed on my arm or maybe somewhere else toward the back of the car as my family rode along in the '70's in Maryland. Well, that wasn't anywhere near Ventura Highway, so I looked up "alligator lizard" to see what America may have been referring to, if it could possibly be the same animal. Well, nothing in Wikipedia under "alligator lizard" resembled my creatures. And when was the last time I saw one of the latter anyway? I hate to think they're gone, but I can't remember seeing one since the '70's. Anyone from Maryland or nearby? When did you last see one of my itty bitty critters?

On the bus yesterday I mentioned this to a woman from Tennessee who used to play with june bugs, tying strings to them for a living fireworks effect. I forgot -- did she say they had vanished? Or does she just not see them anymore since she's come out west?