The Flying Snake

Disclaimer:  One small snake was harmed in the actual events of this story.  

I HATE snakes!  I do not see teachable moments in them at all, unless they are behind glass at the zoo.  I am sorry if I offend any snake lovers, but snakes rank right up there with spiders and strange, flying insects in my book.

Today my eldest came in with a very excited announcement that there was a snake in the pool.  He needed my help to kill it and could I come right now.  This totally got the whole house in a buzz and we ALL go out to see the snake.  Sure enough, there was a ground rattler about a foot long swimming around the edge of the pool.

Growing up in the country with a pool, I learned how to pop a snake with a hoe in the water to stun it so it could easily be removed.  My oldest son, having witnessed this process once before, handed me a shovel.  OK, it was not a hoe, but it should work.  The only problem was this was not a regular shovel, but a short, heavy one with a long blade.  Having a newly refurbished pool, I was not wanting to smash the shovel against the pretty new tile.  I asked Ricky to go find me a hoe.  He went and looked, and couldn't find one, but spotted a baseball.  So, he brings the ball instead.  He had the idea that if we could hit the snake with the ball that it should have the same affect of the hoe...stun the snake.  Sounded good to me, so I told him to go ahead.

Ricky threw the ball, hitting the snake squarely.  The ball plunged into the water and sent the snake flying about 5 feet in the air.

When the snake flew up water splashed hitting Ricky in the head.

All he knew was that the snake flew up and something hit him in the head.  Thinking it was the snake, he screams, "Oh, God! Oh, God, the snake!" and takes off running.  The rest of us having witnessed the snake flying, hearing the screaming, and seeing the frantic movement of Ricky, screamed and ran, too.  By the time the commotion had settled down, Ricky realized it wasn't the snake that had hit him.  Bravely looking around, we spied the snake looking very dead, upside down in the pool.

I am not real sure what killed the snake.  I don't know if it was the ball, the flying, the water landing, or the screaming, but we were able to get him out of the pool and dispose of the body.

By the way, if you need a snake removed just call.  Hey, you might even get a little entertainment to go along with it.