Several of you were expecting a snake. Let me repeat… I don’t do snakes! There are several reasons for my irrational fear of those slimy creatures.
When I was a little girl we spent a day at our cousins’ house digging worms for fishing. These weren’t just any cousins, though. Two of them were boys of the worst sort. You know what I mean – the kind who found great pleasure in taking an innocent little worm and chasing you around the yard with them. Yuck. Well, that night I dreamed that each and every one of those innocent little worms we had so carefully placed in old, rusty vegetable cans filled with dirt, turned into a snake. Not just any snake, but long, slimy black snakes. I was young enough to think that a big ol’ black snake must be the worst of the worst. Hey, I was just a little girl. What did I know? Anyway from that day forward, I have had a dreadful fear of snakes.
Now fast forward about 25 years. We had a big family get together here. My sis and her family were visiting from Arizona. One of the places set up for eating was a picnic table on the back porch. I had put a table cloth on the table to make it a bit nicer. After everyone went home, Jim and the kids helped me clean up. Somehow the tablecloth ended up on the porch floor and stayed there for who knows how long. When I finally got around to doing laundry, I scooped it up and threw it into the washer with a load of towels and then into the drier. How was I supposed to know that a snake had found shelter in it? Now I’m sure nobody else has ever done this, but I didn’t get to the dry clothes right away, so the next day I air fluffed the stuff before folding.
Now picture this. I pulled stuff out of the drier one at a time, snapped it to straighten it out, and folded it. About the third towel out, something flew across the room. A snake!!!!! A nice clean, washed and dried, shriveled up snake. OMG! I screamed and screamed and screamed. Jim came running. The kids came running. The neighbors cam running (they would have if we had neighbors…) Nobody could get me to stop screaming. I was truly hysterical. Finally Tessa yelled what has since become the family mantra anytime I get upset about anything. “Slap her dad, slap her!!” I’ll have to admit that brought me to my senses. But it took me years before I could hear the word snake and not shudder.
In my memory this snake was a long, shriveled up black snake. Jim claims it was a tiny, dried up green snake. I’m sure he remembers wrong in his hysteria and all. Right?
14 comments:
Ahh.. a big "wash and wear" black snake... or perhaps a blue runner... that would explain your umm... "distaste" for snakes.
:)
I remember seeing a huge black snake when I was really young, nearly jumped out of my skin... but fortunately I hung on to the worm I was running with. I don't remember anything at all about chasing little girls with them, nope, nothing at all...
Oh my. The only good snake is one that's being handled by someone else. Better yet, if it's behind glass....
I'm sorry Deanna...I couldn't help but laugh when I was reading your description of the snake flying across the room out of the towel. I too am deathly afraid of snakes, so I know it wasn't funny to you..
Thing is I have no idea why I'd so scared of snakes. I was raised in the country and use to catch green snakes and lizards. Now I can't stand the site of them around me!!!
LOL.....right.
I got a chuckle out of this. Actually this same thing happened to my Mother In Law, they lived out in the country. A snake must of come into the laundry room. Well she washed it and dryed it just like you did. LOL. Okay I am afraid of snakes to. Due to the fact of mean brothers that chased me around with snakes, frogs etc. The things that boys do to make us afraid of things. Used to have nightmares about snakes when I was a little kid, and repeat ones.
A Realtor friend of mine was showing a house one day and found a huge snake draped across a big painting on the wall above the couch. He managed to get rid of it, but warned the owners that its mate was probably somewhere in the house. They found it coiled in a closet.
Eeeeeewwwwwwww. Now, I've freaked myself out.
I don't do snakes either but there isn't a reason except they are just plan gross. Although I have held Chuckles, Eric's little pet snake and he isn't so bad but he is only a 7-8 inches long. And mind you he got that snake AFTER he moved out of my house and into his own place.
LOL well mom you beat me to it. I LOVE that story. To this day I laugh every time I think about it mainly due to the "slap her Dad!!! Slap her!! Oh Mom you know we love you and BTW I was pretty young but I do remember what flew out of that drier and it was a small green garden snake but you remember best I guess LOL.
Oh my gosh - how horrible!!! I'm so dreadfully afraid of snakes too. And the other night I had the most VIVID dreams of being bitten too. Ugh!!!! Luckily I have a wonderful husband who got up, turned on the light and checked under the bed for his hysterical wife. Good men just rock, huh???
While reading this story (with my legs up under my chin) I imagined it was an anaconda, so you are right!
One of the favorite stories that my father likes to tell is when my mother was pregnant (but not too pregnant) with my sister and I was a little over 2.
He was by the dumpster and found a very small garter snake. He was about 100 feet away and he held it up to show us. Both my mother and I turned on our heels and I out ran my mother. I don't do snakes either.
When I was a kid some neighbor boys found a pretty good sized Garter Snake. They eventually chopped it's head off and buried it. Then they dug up the body and chased us around with it, then threw it at us. I'm sure my hatred of snakes comes from that. I used to go hunt nightcrawlers (big fat worms)with my dad and they didn't seem to bother me then. Just snakes. Have had many a dream of those yucky creatures.
Ive only had one snake experience over here, but luckily we dont have dangerous snakes......
Whilst walking in the woods in Maine though I was a little scared, inside me head I kept repeating....... no snakes no spiders no bears, no snakes no spiders no bears..lol....
x
I understand completely! Skin is literally crawling just thinking about it.
Hugs,
Jan
I'm not a snake expert - in fact, I'm not a fan of snakes... OK, fine, I'm almost as scared as you are - but I was under the impression that snakes weren't slimy. Or have I been misinformed?
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