SNAKE SIGNALS - Segment 2 (Scroll down for opening segment)

     One summer I worked at a zoo where my father was the zoo veterinarian.

     Strategically placed throughout the zoo were listening devices called zoo boxes.  Zoo keys were sold for use in the boxes.  Kids loved it.  They would insert the key and twist.  Instantly, the following tune would begin playing:  “All the animals at the zoo are jumping up and down for you, waiting for you to come by today…”and on it went.

     The purpose of this song was to get the kids excited about the zoo and all the animals.   It was also used to test the emotional stability of the concession workers nearby—of which I was one—who often considered taking a hammer and smashing the boxes into very small, unrecognizable pieces. 

     Often I would find myself waking up in the middle of the night singing…”All the animals at the zoo…”

     In reality, the song was highly misleading.  The only animals I knew who were jumping up and down were the chimpanzees, and the concession workers who had listened to “All the animals at the zoo…” several million times.

     I did my best to avoid selling zoo keys. 

    …”May I buy a zoo key?”

     “I’m sorry, but I’m sold out; but I do have some hammers for sale.”

     When I wasn’t working, I would sometimes go with Dad on his rounds at the zoo.  On occasion, he would enlist my help with a project.  ”Son,” he would say, “I’m going to need some help with one of the snakes at the Reptile House.

 

     At that very moment, I would hear other work calling. 

     “I would love to, Dad, but I was going to help Canfield hang closet doors.  

     

     “What do you know about hanging closet doors?” Dad asked, with a befuddled look.

     “Nothing, but I’m interested in learning.”

     Dad would give me another strange look, and then say, “I think you’d better come with me.  I need someone who can help with this snake.”  So, off we would go to the reptile house.

     I saw people who would never enter this place.  Mention the “S” word and they would jump six feet straight up, from a prone position, performing acrobatic stunts not seen in a Barnum and Bailey circus.

     If people were more knowledgeable about snakes, they wouldn’t have such fear.  That’s why I tell everyone, “Learn about snakes. Know which snakes are venomous; know which snakes are constrictors; know which snakes are harmless; know where the harmless snakes live; live there.”

To be continued...check back soon

   

SNAKE SIGNALS - Opening segment (Scroll down for earlier chapters)

     For those of you who missed the news, I learned recently that 350,000 pet snakes have been released into the Everglades.  We’re not talking about garter snakes; we’re talking about snakes that can squeeze the life out of a giant redwood tree.  If you’re not a giant redwood tree, I would be more concerned.  We’re talking about large boa constrictors. 

     I share this news, in case some of you had “swimming in the Everglades” on your “to do” list before you die.  You might want to scratch that off your list.  You may want to hang closet doors instead.

     Thinking about those snakes, reminded me of my first encounter with “snake signals.”  A “snake signal” is the way a person informs others, who are miles away, that they have encountered a snake.  I might add that many people will use the same signal when encountering a small, dried-up worm on a sidewalk.

     I was about eight years of age when I first discovered this phenomenon.  Picking up a harmless garter snake as it wiggled through the grass in our yard, I was extremely proud of my catch.  I decided to show mom my snake.  “Lord have mercy!” she screamed, suspending herself in mid-air, about four feet off the ground.  I was impressed with her instant recognition of my snake, not to mention her ability to suspend herself in mid-air.

     I quickly learned that snake sightings often cause screeching, levitation, fainting spells, pant-wetting, death-bed confessions, and general hysteria. 

    It’s little wonder that I would experience many other “snake signals” in the years ahead.

    One summer I worked at a zoo where my father was the zoo veterinarian.

To be continued...check back soon