From the BEACH SIDE (CB)We were going for walk. (ASJ and myself. make CT & NK go for a walk at least once a day. Force them. Yes they whine and complain, but they do comply.) We decided to walk on the beach. Once the decision was made to walk on the beach CT & ASJ needed to go back to the cabin, it was something like needing sandals or sweat shirts. Not sure really, which it was. Anyway, NK and myself stayed down on the beach to wait for ASJ & CT. Suddenly screams were heard. Now these were not little sissy screams, these were Big Girl Screams. The kind that makes your hair on the back of your neck stand up. I very calmly turned to my friend NK and said one word "snake." Unbeknownst to myself or the rest of the guild, apparently CT has a deathly fear of snakes (completely understandable if you knew the story), and apparently I had forgotten to mention that every once in awhile you might see a snake around the end of the drive sunning itself (in my defense I had no idea she was afraid of snakes or I would have mentioned it). Now . . . .
From the CABIN SIDE (ASJ)
CT and I were happily skipping up to the cabin to change attire. It was a beautiful day on the Island. The kind of day that makes a person want to scream with excited anticipation of all the joys this particular day will bring. The kind of day which arrives with great chilliness, which is slowly burned off by the summer sun. The sky was brilliant, the air was crisp, and we were vacationing sans children (not one of the 12 anywhere in sight!). Anyway, I was giddy with excitement and we were deep in conversation on our way up from the beach. We had just crossed the road and were on the driveway, when CT began screaming. And we're not just talking screaming, but a deep blood-curdling scream that pierced the air and engulfed both of us. I took a split second to jump back and look around, expecting a bear, or a man with a gun. Not seeing anything like that, I asked "what—what—what— what????? A bear?" CT shook her head "no" and tried to speak but couldn't. I asked again if it was a bear (my thought process is not quite as clairvoyant as CB's) as her screams gave way to gasps of "a, a, a, a sss." By this time I could see that she was in distress (takes me awhile, but I eventually catch on) and was hyperventilating. So, I started saying "exhale ----exhale----exhale----a snake???" Oh, then her head bobbed. So, I looked around, and I couldn't see a snake. So, I said, "I don't see a snake." (That worked well) She pointed toward the road, amid gasps of "snnn.....th th th there." So, I walked back to the road, and as I came to the spot where the driveway to the cabin goes over the culvert for the ditch, the screams returned, together with sobs and jumping up and down while pointing. Bless CT's heart, she didn't want that snake to get me! I said, "It's gone." CT didn't quite believe me that the snake was gone, so I walked in the ditch on both sides of the driveway. Now, I'm not a big fan of snakes either, and screaming kinda scares me, so I made sure there were no more snakes. By this time CT had gained control and was merely crying and saying "no, no, no, no, no..." Then she explained the reasons behind her deep fear of snakes, and I not only understood, but I was right with her on the fear part. So, we went to the cabin and took a very long time changing our clothes, or footwear, or whatever it was we were changing. On our walk back to the beach, I went ahead of CT, with my eyes totally focused on the ground, looking for that one snake which inhabited the Island. That snake had gone into hiding and will most likely never be seen again.
CT and I were happily skipping up to the cabin to change attire. It was a beautiful day on the Island. The kind of day that makes a person want to scream with excited anticipation of all the joys this particular day will bring. The kind of day which arrives with great chilliness, which is slowly burned off by the summer sun. The sky was brilliant, the air was crisp, and we were vacationing sans children (not one of the 12 anywhere in sight!). Anyway, I was giddy with excitement and we were deep in conversation on our way up from the beach. We had just crossed the road and were on the driveway, when CT began screaming. And we're not just talking screaming, but a deep blood-curdling scream that pierced the air and engulfed both of us. I took a split second to jump back and look around, expecting a bear, or a man with a gun. Not seeing anything like that, I asked "what—what—what— what????? A bear?" CT shook her head "no" and tried to speak but couldn't. I asked again if it was a bear (my thought process is not quite as clairvoyant as CB's) as her screams gave way to gasps of "a, a, a, a sss." By this time I could see that she was in distress (takes me awhile, but I eventually catch on) and was hyperventilating. So, I started saying "exhale ----exhale----exhale----a snake???" Oh, then her head bobbed. So, I looked around, and I couldn't see a snake. So, I said, "I don't see a snake." (That worked well) She pointed toward the road, amid gasps of "snnn.....th th th there." So, I walked back to the road, and as I came to the spot where the driveway to the cabin goes over the culvert for the ditch, the screams returned, together with sobs and jumping up and down while pointing. Bless CT's heart, she didn't want that snake to get me! I said, "It's gone." CT didn't quite believe me that the snake was gone, so I walked in the ditch on both sides of the driveway. Now, I'm not a big fan of snakes either, and screaming kinda scares me, so I made sure there were no more snakes. By this time CT had gained control and was merely crying and saying "no, no, no, no, no..." Then she explained the reasons behind her deep fear of snakes, and I not only understood, but I was right with her on the fear part. So, we went to the cabin and took a very long time changing our clothes, or footwear, or whatever it was we were changing. On our walk back to the beach, I went ahead of CT, with my eyes totally focused on the ground, looking for that one snake which inhabited the Island. That snake had gone into hiding and will most likely never be seen again.
The moral of story . . .
We will be checking in the future before CT strolls down the driveway to the beach that said "snake" is not sunning it self on the end of the driveway. We already have a detailed plan of how we will walk down to the beach to protect our friend CT (actually it looks a like football play).
P.S. I also feel that I should mention that there have been times when said "snake" (sure if you want to believe there is only one snake on the island, I’ll back you up) has sunned it self on the step, for the shed in the back of the cabin. Forewarned is forearmed!
No comments:
Post a Comment