It's pretty clear to me that this is an attempt to explain the mechanisms of lambda calculus using familiar metaphors. I think it could be very helpful for introducing the concepts.
When I read _this_, I was puzzled. What the heck are we doing? Why do I care about alligators? What's the point of this?
And it only made sense when he said "it's like lambda calculus". It's a sad explanation if you need to understand the concept to understand the explanation.