Papa is Fast On His Feet

Hello folks, let’s chat…Florida’s 2016 Python Challenge has officially ended. That would be the state’s month long public hunt designed to control the ever mounting population of their Burmese Pythons. I do hope y’all weren’t counting on me to remind you. The time snuck by me, if you will.

I did read up on the contest, however. If you wanna save the date for next year, here are a couple things you may want to note. For starters, you’re allowed to turn your overgrown reptiles in dead if you just have to, but organizers would prefer you bring them in alive– and they’d like you to catch them with your bare hands if possible. Oh, come on, be a good sport. You can find all kinds of helpful tips in the training guide like “Don’t hesitate” and “pin your python by grabbing it right behind the jawbone.”

You may enter as an individual but you can also compete as a team. I’m thinking with the wife and kids. After all, the Python Challenge is billed as a family friendly event, and what could possibly go wrong?

“Honey, have you seen Junior? He was right here a minute ago…”

Okay, maybe that.

FYI, prize packages run as high as $5,000. If you’re thinking about making extra cash wrestling thirty foot snakes into submission, I thought you’d want to know exactly what kind of money we’re talking about. Call me lily livered but I won’t be there. I prefer to keep as much ground as possible between me and snakes of any size. Just thinking about sneaking up on an overgrown python makes my stomach churn. It also reminds me of one of my Papa’s stories.

Back in the day Papa was headed to the deer stand with his brother when Uncle John came to an abrupt halt. After looking hard at the ground a moment Uncle John said, “Ed, I’m pretty sure these are bear tracks.”

“I think so, too,” Papa said. “Tell you what,” he added, “you follow them and see where that bear went, and I’ll trace ’em back and see where he came from.”

Hugs, Shellie