Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sympathy for the snake
I have a couple of very simple guidelines that govern my relationship with wild animals and other assorted critters. As long as they stay in their space and respect mine, I leave them alone. If they invade my territory, I reserve the right to declare war, which I will most likely win through annihilation. In other words, I am not the sort of person who scoops the spider up in a cup and sets it free outdoors. I am also not the sort of person who sees a spider running across the sidewalk and steps on it. If I'm going to expect the spider to respect my personal space, I am of the belief that I should show it the same respect in return. Which is why I get a little bit upset when I see people who are clearly not living by this maxim.
I was walking around the lakeside path during lunch when I noticed a group of men clustered ahead of me, staring at what I deduced could only be a snake. I was right--shortly before I came upon them, one of the guys stepped into the woods and picked up a pretty sizeable king snake and brought it back down to the path to show his buddies. They seemed impressed, but I decidedly was not. If the snake had wandered onto the path, then I would have been fine with the guy picking it up and pointing it back in the direction of the woods. In fact, I would applaud such a move, because he'd be preventing the snake from accidentally being stepped on (not to mention, he'd be preventing me from accidentally stepping on a snake, which I have done before and would not recommend). But no--this snake was clearly just minding its own business, hanging out in its own space, and the only reason he picked it up was to play Steve Irwin to this group of guys. I mean, how would he like it if he were hanging out in his backyard, minding his own business, and then all of a sudden someone picked him up and started playing with him? I'd venture to say that he wouldn't like it one bit, which is why I hope someday a giant snake comes along and plucks him right out of his lawn chair.
I have a couple of very simple guidelines that govern my relationship with wild animals and other assorted critters. As long as they stay in their space and respect mine, I leave them alone. If they invade my territory, I reserve the right to declare war, which I will most likely win through annihilation. In other words, I am not the sort of person who scoops the spider up in a cup and sets it free outdoors. I am also not the sort of person who sees a spider running across the sidewalk and steps on it. If I'm going to expect the spider to respect my personal space, I am of the belief that I should show it the same respect in return. Which is why I get a little bit upset when I see people who are clearly not living by this maxim.
I was walking around the lakeside path during lunch when I noticed a group of men clustered ahead of me, staring at what I deduced could only be a snake. I was right--shortly before I came upon them, one of the guys stepped into the woods and picked up a pretty sizeable king snake and brought it back down to the path to show his buddies. They seemed impressed, but I decidedly was not. If the snake had wandered onto the path, then I would have been fine with the guy picking it up and pointing it back in the direction of the woods. In fact, I would applaud such a move, because he'd be preventing the snake from accidentally being stepped on (not to mention, he'd be preventing me from accidentally stepping on a snake, which I have done before and would not recommend). But no--this snake was clearly just minding its own business, hanging out in its own space, and the only reason he picked it up was to play Steve Irwin to this group of guys. I mean, how would he like it if he were hanging out in his backyard, minding his own business, and then all of a sudden someone picked him up and started playing with him? I'd venture to say that he wouldn't like it one bit, which is why I hope someday a giant snake comes along and plucks him right out of his lawn chair.
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