Snakes are a part of the natural order of things and a very important one at that. They have a purpose. To eat things we hate that live around us and to scare the devil out of us. I am not afraid of snakes I can say. When I was a kid I used to catch them. Thank goodness I never had to tangle with a poisonous one. But Mom caught me playing with one in the back yard one day. She about freaked out. She wouldn't even pet it. But she toldl me if she caught be bothering or playing with another snake, I wouldn't sit down for a week. Would that be child abuse or parental control? In her defense, she grew up in the deserts of Utah and they had snakes and scorpions that you just did not mess with if you had brains.

Now my father is deathly afraid of snakes. I don't think he fears anything else in the world but if a snake is in his path, he turns and goes the opposite way. He don't even like seeing them on TV.

And my old black Labrador "Number Seven" he hated snakes. He'd kill any snake he saw. And it was gruesome how he did it. He'd grab it, and shake it so hard it would snap in two. In fact when I was building the new roof on the house all my friends were over helping. And one of them brought his two boys so they could play in the yard and with the dog. I warned them about if the dog finds a snake, get away from him. Well kids are kids, they went looking for one. Found one, call the dog over and when Seven shook that snake apart one chunk smacked the little one right in the mouth. I never saw a kid scream and cry so loud. It wasn't like the snake could hurt him. Maybe it was the blood and snake guts that bothered him? I finally had to take him in the house, wash his face with soap and water and give him an ice cream bar.