Snake Charmer

I come by my dislike of snakes naturally; Daddy didn’t like them either.  Nonetheless, one of Daddy’s funniest stories was about a snake.

Daddy’s misadventure with a snake happened when he was in an army training camp in the southwest somewhere.  I always imagined a desert-like place with troops bivouacked in those big tents built on wooden platforms and outfitted with a half dozen or more bunks.  Daddy didn’t like it there – it was too hot for him. 

As Daddy told it, he came slowly awake one night with the realization that there was a large, warm something laying across his forehead.  Nothing he could think of would have that weight and feel except a pretty big snake.  So he executed a swift move to grab the snake and throw it across the room.  ……Only to find out that the “snake” was actually his other arm!  His whole arm had “fallen asleep” so that he couldn’t feel it. 

Can you just imagine the scene?  Making a bit of a ruckus and waking your bunkmates only to realize you were trying to throw your own arm!  Daddy always laughed so hard telling the story that he could hardly tell it.  Embarrassing.  Funny.  A story to be told and retold.

And now it’s yours to tell again.