I ******* hate snakes

[btchance]

I mean I really, really hate snakes. This afternoon, I was climbing up the last hill of the day, so I wasn't looking real far ahead, and with cars going the opposite direction, I was a little distracted. Anways, I then glanced farther forward, about 50 feet, and noticed something in the road and thought it was a stick. All of a sudden, I realized the thing was moving, coming directly into my path, and was a 3-4 foot long snake. I about freaked. With cars around me, I couldn't exactly swerve to miss it, so I slammed on the brakes, then suddenly realized that I was freaking clipped in, somehow managed to stay upright and missed the snake by less than 1/2 a foot. I completely freaked at this point and almost had a panic attack as I went the last 500 feet to my car.

I am going to be having nightmares about this for days. I mean, in some of my textbooks whenever I used to come across a picture of a snake I had to put something over the picture to be able to read the text. I mean I am completely terrified of these things. Aaaahhhhh

[DebW]

I almost kayaked over a snake a couple years ago. But it dove just in time. Then there's the story my mother tells of walking to school when she was young and lived in the country. There was a long snake all the way across the road. She ran and jumped over it. So, maybe you need to develop your bike jumping technique, btchance, to be ready for the next one. Not to make light of your situation, because that would freak most people. But all's well that ends well.

[pkq]

Back in my slalom days in Louisiana, it was nothing for a snake to be in the water and sometimes even cross the ski rope. I guess I've seen so many they don't really impact my little pea brain.

Hope you don't have any nightmares though. Those are pretty tough!

[latelatebloomer]

Actually, your snake was a good omen! They're symbolic of wisdom. That's why there's a snake on the cadaceus, the staff & serpent emblem for doctors, vets, etc. Sorry you had such a scare, though.

signed, latelate (whose entryway is guarded by a Buddha entwined with a bright red rubber snake. BTchance can come in the kitchen door, though, if she ever pays a visit!)

[Lise]

Actually, your snake was a good omen! They're symbolic of wisdom. That's why there's a snake on the cadaceus, the staff & serpent emblem for doctors, vets, etc. Sorry you had such a scare, though.

signed, latelate (whose entryway is guarded by a Buddha entwined with a bright red rubber snake. BTchance can come in the kitchen door, though, if she ever pays a visit!)

I'm with you. I may need to get a guardian for the doorway. Heaven knows I've got symbols and icons everywhere else in the house! I figure that the fear of snakes is:

1) reasonable if they're the kind of snakes that might kill you, but
2) probably culturally exagerated over many centuries of oppression of women healers.

All that said, and with a bow to the ancient wisdom that snakes represent, aaannndddd I know that they kill vermin, etc.....they do give me the creeps. It's the moving with no limbs thing. I think. Or it's #2 above.

[btchance]

I think part of what completely freaked me out on this one was the fact that it was moving fast, with lots of side to side motion, and was almost jumping up off the ground at points (maybe a little exaggerated, but you get the idea)

Also, I grew up in an area with a lot of snakes, many of them poisonness. I can remember my Dad killing a copper head in the basement he was currently building, being warned about the water mocassins in the area ponds, and the rattlesnakes around there. Couple that to snakes being found in the bedroom, in the washing machine, dropping out of the rafters in the barn, hiding in the hay, cats trying to carry them into the house, and 4 older brothers who liked to torture me with them probably led to my fear of them. Now, if I happen to have any boys of my own, I just have to somehow find a way to keep them from knowing how scared I am of them. Insects, spiders, rats, mice are no problem, it's just those d*mn snakes (and lizzards to a small degree)

I have no problem with the caduceus though, I actually have a wall hanging I made with that on it after starting med school. Who knows why that doesn't bother me, but it doesn't.

[Running Mommy]

I'm with you... And in AL they have those black snakes that blend in!! We were at a regional park out there mtn biking once ( near b-ham, pelham I think?) and there was one hanging in the tree!! I almost bit it hard when I figured out what it was!!

[Nanci]

I guess, if I had to pick, I'd rather run over a snake than a squirrel, like BF did last week...I, of course, will lock up the brakes in my car to avoid them, and always honk well ahead of time, since I can spot them from far away, since I am always looking for them. Then I scream out the window- "Get away from the road!!!"

I've run over a snake once, maybe twice, mountain biking. It's hard not to, they come out of the long grass and across the trail before you can react. Luckily, the snake I ran over was ok when I stopped to check. "Mr. Snake, Mr. Snake, are you all right?" I moved a snake out of the trail once, too, since it was halfway done with eating a squirrel, right in the middle of the trail...

Nanci

[yellow]

Also, I grew up in an area with a lot of snakes, many of them poisonness.

And where was this? (To ensure that I never move there!)

I've had many a discussion with many different folks re: which way to go around a rattlesnake, should one be in your path, it is not coiled, and there is room on either side. If you go around the back (that is, past the rattle side), are you safer than if you go around the front (the head) reallly reallllly fast?

I've heard (1) go around the head if it's not coiled or posed to strike as it would need to pull back a bit at the least in order to strike (which means that if your friend is riding behind you, THEY may be the one that gets it! ) and (2) go around the tail side and hope that you don't disturb it and (3) don't go around the tail side as it's easier for the snake to coil (or compress) and strike from that direction. I prefer (4), avoid the snake altogether.

I don't really hate or love snakes. I've never had any negative experiences with them and grew up in a family that spent a lot of time in "nature study", garter snakes included.

Now, what about a squirrel? Such unpredictable little buggers...

[Lise]

"Mr. Snake, Mr. Snake, are you all right?" Nanci

Um, did you shake him? Activate the EMS? Ascertain that he had an airway? Where is a snake's heart anyway?

[DirtDiva]

No snakes live there, neither snakes nor snake products can be legally brought into the country.

[btchance]

I'm with you... And in AL they have those black snakes that blend in!! We were at a regional park out there mtn biking once ( near b-ham, pelham I think?) and there was one hanging in the tree!! I almost bit it hard when I figured out what it was!!

You're talking about Oak Mountain, right. Same place, black snake also. I mentioned this to one of my tri friends, and now we are both afraid to start our open water swimming Thursday like we were planning, as there are probably snakes in there too. (of course she had to come up with that one)

And don't tempt me about moving to New Zealand. That's one place I'd love to visit, and now that I know there aren't snakes, it's even more tempting.

[Running Mommy]

Yep, thats the place!! Our friends lived in Hoover. In fact we almost moved out there... But somehow glad we ended up here. I like my DRY heat!
As for the water.... Another friend of mine grew up in the south, and they used to rustle the water with sticks before they went swimming. She said it worked?? All I know is I'm the polar opposite of Nanci on this one!! I won't even pull the mtn bike off the rack right now because there "might" be snakes on the trail!!
Today when I was running one of the more humanly travelled trails I saw snake tracks in the sand. And ALOT of them!! Let's just say I took the paved trail home!
Yeah, so I'm with you on this one!! I dunno if I'd be going in that water either?? And that stinks, cause a girls gotta get her OW training in!!

[latelatebloomer]

I could have used "Mr.Snake, Mr.Snake, Are you all right?" as the title for that thread I started about cycling and impotence!

[Lise]

I could have used "Mr.Snake, Mr.Snake, Are you all right?" as the title for that thread I started about cycling and impotence!

Again, I say, HA!