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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Living Small Part 3: Snake Story

Living off the paved road in Northeast Tennessee, most of our neighbors have four legs. A few have two. Some have none.
Snakes. Just say the word and stories start to fly. Examples: (1) A friend is in the yard with her young son. She walks over to pick up a stick, and the “stick” moves. Screaming at her son to run inside, she sprints to the car. Shifting into gear, she roars back and forth over the creature until its lifeless carcass shivers to a stop. Nice field expedient use of weaponry, but perhaps a wee bit of overkill. (2) In a previous lifetime, Barry walks into a darkened chicken coup to gather eggs. He reaches into one nest and finds himself staring at a very large, well-fed snake. A battle involving a sharp blade ensues, and the snake loses. Another example in a very long list of how people typically overreact to snakes.    
Snake Story:
It’s three years since my sawmill has been fired up thanks to insanely persistent foot injuries.  With some recent relief, a few days ago it seemed like a good time to get it back in service. As with any piece of machinery, unless you have prepared it for long-term storage, the worst treatment is to let it sit idle—especially if it is outside. It is akin to a mechanical death sentence. And, that is what my sawmill had endured. But, where to begin?
Start by checking for mouse damage. As I remove the tarp I am reminded that some of the battery cable sheaths on the mill have an uncanny resemblance to snakes—someone on the Woodmizer sawmill design team must have a wicked sense of humor. I pop the lid on the battery compartment and crack it open. First thought: There are those dang snaky-looking battery cables. Second thought: I don’t remember there being so many of them. Third thought: Battery cables don’t move. Fourth thought: &%$*#!!! Fifth thought: Maybe I better get Becky to photo-document this. She reluctantly agrees when I remind her about the zoom lens.
Then I open the lid all the way.
This is definitely one of those good news/bad news moments. Good news: No mouse damage. Bad news: Battery compartment is now Snake Condo. Good news: This appears to be a non-poisonous black snake. Bad news: Make that “snakes.” What now? My spring assisted Gerber knife is easily flipped open with one hand, so I reach over and . . .
Close the lid and leave them alone. Fortunately, our friend and her car are nowhere around—and I have learned to deal with snakes a bit more rationally. If you keep breathing and look closely, there appear to be two and not two hundred—the lighter colored and more slender female rests behind the darker, heftier male. Black snakes are quite common around here and it is not unusual to see ones in excess of six feet long. Although the sight of them can cause your heart to skip a beat, black snakes are quite harmless and tend to be fairly docile creatures. If agitated, yes, they may strike in self defense and an unwashed bite could become infected, but they lack the hypodermic needle-like fangs and venom characteristic of poisonous snakes. That is pretty much the extent of their danger to humans. Unless of course while hiking you see one and leap off a cliff in terror. Or, if one slithers onto your sleeping bag and you have a heart attack. In those cases, your reaction—not the snake—could be lethal.
Snake stories also abound in the Bible and are usually associated with that which is evil. There is a curious good news/bad news exception in the Old Testament where Moses is leading Israel through the desert and they are afflicted by poisonous snakes (Num. 21:4-9). Following God’s instructions, Moses makes a bronze serpent and raises it on a pole. Instructions are called out: If bitten, look to the bronze replica on the pole. Those that do are healed. This story transforms from peculiar to magnificent when revealed as a historical type, or forerunner, for an event in the New Testament: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” John 3:14–16 (NRSV). Looking to the serpent healed physically. Looking to the Son of God heals spiritually.