Rev. A. J. Ogden

This is a snaky world we live in today. Snakes are everywhere and my wife, Pauline, and I are afraid of them too. It seems that we are continually having to kill one around the house.

While sitting on the front porch early in the day, my wife saw that something was causing a yellow flower bush to move and shake. She didn’t go at the time to investigate, but later in the day she did go. Under the bush is a hole where an old tree trunk has rotted away leaving a hollow. She stared at the hole for some time, and finally a head with eyes looked straight up at her and she stood with cold chills running up her spine. Then a large part of a snake slowly rose up several inches. She said he was sticking out his tongue at her.

Something in Pauline said run and another voice within said stay and fight and don’t be a coward. So after a few seconds she came up with a strategy I would not have thought of, and even if I did, I would never have done it. She concluded she would drown that snake. I was gone to town and she had to deal with this problem. She grabbed her water hose and had a hoe in the other hand. If the snake drowns, no problem, if he comes running out of the flood she would hit him with the hoe. Well, he didn’t drown but cane out at about the speed of sound and almost glided over her feet. Then came the fight, swinging the hoe and hitting as fast as a jack hammer, only wounding him in the back. But before he reached the woods she did amputate his tail. So he lives miserable ever after, I guess.