Well, I guess it won't hurt to give it a try~

For as many things as I wish to do before I "kick the bucket", there is an equally long list of things I would NEVER want to do.  In fact, not sure that all of the money in the world would make me change my mind.  See if you agree with me, if not on all,  then at LEAST on one or two of them....


The "top 5" things that Peggy Miller would NOT put on a bucket list~


1.  To parachute out of an airplane.
2.  To do karaoke anywhere.
3.  To pick up and handle a pet mouse or rat.
4.  To eat even ONE olive, black OR green.
5.  To touch a snake, for the very first time.


Hey friends, how about it~did I mention one or two that you would be able to concur with me on?  If so, then I already feel a bit better in knowing that I'm not the only soul who would refuse to jump out of a plane at anywhere from 3,000 to 13,000 feet and fall to the ground with only a small pack attached to my back.  I take solace in knowing that there must be some other  person out there who  would refuse to go onstage in front of everyone and "his brother" to  sing the latest song on the radio.  And even IF I was the only one who felt this way, I still would refuse to even attempt to put an olive in my mouth.  I break out in a cold sweat on THAT one!  As for mice and rats, well all you gotta do is take a look under my kitchen sink to find an arsenal of unopened mousetraps, just ready for the first sign of a "visitor" from the great outdoors just as soon as the cooler weather of fall arrives.  And THEN, there'd be snakes.....


My first vivid memory of those members of the reptilian family was when I was just a little girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old.  I grew up in a farming family and every summer one of those "rituals" of living in the country was the arrival and subsequent raising of little baby chicks.  Long, long before the days of UPS or FedEx deliveries, baby chickens arrived in a rectangular cardboard box that was generally delivered right to your mailbox out at the end of the driveway.  Don't know how it was done, but those 50-75 little cheepers would be alive and well in their cardboard home, just waiting for someone to come rescue them as their box hung by twine with the rest of the  mail.

That summer, those little guys were looking pretty cute to me, a soft-hearted child who was fascinated by how quickly they grew and changed.  We knew that sooner or later, most of them would be sacrificed as food for our family of 9 people in all.   But until that day, they were our pets and we loved them.  After spending the first week or two of their lives indoors down in the basement, they were moved outdoors to the chicken house to continue to finish their time before being butchered.


One summer afternoon, my little sister and I were outdoors playing when we decided to go see how our little "friends" were doing and the sight we saw that afternoon in June forever stayed in my mind.  As soon as we opened the door, there it was.  A huge bull snake that I'm sure looked (to our very wide eyes)  to be about 400 feet long with a body as big as a grown man's arm was around, systematically going after one baby chick, followed by the next unlucky one.  We were shocked to see the snake pop its jaws open and consume a feast of our little pets.  Not sure exactly how long that all lasted, but there was a lot of screaming going on, by chicks and girls alike.  Finally, oh I don't know, maybe an entire flock of little chickens later, a neighbour came over and killed the snake.  And that one moment in time shaped the way that I felt towards snakes forever to this day.


I have cringed at the thought of seeing a snake anywhere.  Occasionally as I ride the bike path, I will encounter one slithering across the road or sunning alongside it.  Generally speaking, the snake then owns the path and I wait.  And if I could balance my bike while standing upon the seat as it crosses by, then don't think for a moment that I would not.  They scare me that much.  


Every year for the past several years, I have made the stupidly unfortunate mistake of digging barehanded into my flower beds only to be amazingly surprised as I uncover and pull out a small snake.  For crying out loud, you'd think I would know better.  So that generally means that A), I throw it as far as I can hurl it while screaming blood curdling yells, or B) I go and grab the shovel and its days on earth are over quickly.  I cannot say it enough, snakes just scare me.  


Now enters into this story, my Facebook friend named Kyle Duncan.  He and I have never met one another but we became "friends" because of his acquaintance with my nieces Brandy Lackey and Mandy Dwyer.  They are all close to the same age and grew up in the same south western Oklahoma town of Altus.  Kyle surely seems like a nice guy, a motivator and inspirer for his Facebook friends, much the same way as my good friend, Dennis Ulrey is.  I figure in this world, a person can never have too many friends and I am glad to have Kyle as one of mine.  


Now in a little over a week or so, I'm going to make the trip down to Oklahoma City to meet Kyle and his family and oh, uhmmm, yeah~his snakes.  You see Kyle is one of those guys who loves snakes, so much that he breeds them for himself and others.  A couple of his "snake photos" are shown below.  Don't be afraid, only photos!  :)  LOL

I know what some of you reading this must be thinking.  Those of you who might be "snake haters" like me are probably saying to yourself, "She's nuts!  That's crazy!"  Believe me, a month ago I would never have had the desire to see a snake, this up close and personal.  I have always gone by the motto, "the only good snake is a dead snake".  I have a shovel with a sharp edge on it and I am NOT afraid to use it to chop up a snake to kingdom come and back again.


Yet, I've been reading Kyle's posts on Facebook for some time now in regards to his pastime of snake breeding.  He speaks with great pride of the many successful hatches that he has and from time to time will post photos of his very "colorful" baby reptiles.  And I cannot believe I am saying this, but somehow I have started to have the desire to learn more about them and maybe, JUST maybe, get rid of some of my ophidiophobia (hey, I didn't know what the word for snake phobia was either~I had to look it up.)  I figure there's no better place to start working on that than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Kyle has graciously offered to "introduce" me to a few of his friends (and I'm NOT talkin' people here).  Kyle's "passion" for snakes has enlightened me to the fact that I may not be giving them credit they deserve and if nothing else, I'm hoping to "shed" part of the overwhelming fear I have of them.  As Kyle would be first to tell you, it's ok to have a healthy respect for snakes as you encounter them in nature but you really DON'T have to kill everyone that you see.  They have a place here and help to keep the "balance of nature" in check.  


Not going to be bringing one back in my backpack to keep as a pet and actually probably will feel an accomplishment if I can just bear to touch one without cringing.  For me, just allowing myself to be in a room with so many of what I have always considered to be "the enemy" will be a miracle.  But I am going there to learn more about them and with Kyle's help and a little luck, I hope to come back a slightly different person. Hey, and who knows?  Maybe I'll be brave enough to actually hold one.  Wait and see!


See you in a week or so Kyle Duncan!  It will be a pleasure to meet you and your family and interesting to meet your "extended" family.  Thanks for believing that I can do it!


A quote about ignorance~wish I knew who said it but I don't have a name to attribute it to.....


"The greatest ignorance is to reject something that you know nothing about."  

For what it is worth my friends.......