The Twilight Zone
2:56 PMWhich one of you nominated my life for an episode of The Twilight Zone and forgot to tell me I'd won?!! It seemed like an ordinary day to begin with . . . . did my time on the Beast (exercise equipment), went to take a shower and there on the floor of the shower is a snake. In. My. Shower. Luckily, he was already dead. Otherwise, I'm not sure which one of us might have died first.
Chris had just left for work so I called him and asked if he knew there was a dead snake in the bottom of our shower. He replies, "Our shower?" Then a long pause. "Do I need to come back home?"
"No," I replied, "s/he's already dead. What do I do with a dead snake?" (Our shower? Like who else's shower would I be talking about?)
"Just put him outside" says the husband, in his truck, on his way to work, to his wife, who was just about to step into the shower. Not optimal. What to do?
I fished him out of the shower with a tissue and put him in the sink. I figured if he was gone after I got out the shower, I'd have a heart attack then.
Half hoping it would be gone, half scared it wouldn't be there, I looked in the sink after showering, the snake was still there. Now what? After looking at him rather closely and admiring his coloring and scale pattern, I decided to do what any artist worth her salt would do - I painted him.
Northern Ringneck Snake
Painted in my Nature Sketchbook
© Laure Ferlita, All Rights Reserved
After painting him, I decided I probably needed to find out what kind of snake he was and whether he was poisonous. Hey, stop shaking your head! Better late than never. Beside he was dead, remember? Turns out he is a Northern Ringneck Snake and they like damp, moist places. Guess the shower was more than he bargained for though. We think he probably drowned last night when Chris took his shower.
Which brought up another thought. What do you think my chances of getting out of a shower alive when/if a live snake crawled out of the drain during said shower?!!!! When I posed this thought to my dear, sweet, darling husband, he replied, "Stomp it."
"STOMP IT? With my bare feeeeeeeeeet?!!"
9 Creative Thought(s)
Whoa!! That is a bit Twilight Zone-ish! I've never heard of that happening. Your narration was comical...and perfectly captured the moment!!
ReplyDeleteTHAT is hilarious, Laure! I love that you wound up sketching the guy here--great job! Always ready to document what's around you, eh? Reminds me of a snake that suddenly appeared on my bathroom floor once, years ago, in the middle of the night. I was alone and petrified. I had no earthly idea what to do, and you'll never believe what I did--I vacuumed him up in the hose. I put the whole vacuum cleaner out on the deck and left it there for MONTHS. When I finally opened it up, no snake. Go figure. Somehow I guess it got out again, but it scared me to death. Your husband's response and yours cracked me up. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI can assure you it was far funnier in the retelling than in the moment! Had it been alive this tale may not have had a happy ending!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, you've really got me chuckling. I really feel for you as I would have panic'd as well. I don't like creepy things like that. I'm amazed at how you kept your wits about you and even managed to be creative with your art as well. I'd say you've really got some balance! What a story.
ReplyDeleteFrom this side of the computer screen, I'm peering at your painting of the snake thinking "Oh cool! A ringneck snake!" but had that been in MY shower, I would have freaked, too. I get the heebie-jeebies if there's so much as a little spider in the shower, yet out in nature, (while fully clothed mind you), I'm all excited and getting photos of the same darn thing.
ReplyDeleteI watch those documentaries of the tribes in the Amazon going hunting through the rainforest stark naked, and it freaks me out - think of all the things they might step on with their naked feet. Eeew.
But I applaud the painting and the fact that you even thought to do a painting. It is beautiful.
First off, thanks so much for the lovely comments re my blog backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteSecondly... I wonder whether I could have fished the snake out! No, I don't think I could. It would have had to wait until The Man's return (that's what they are there for, lol). What would I do? Run a mile, and NOT WASH until it had been dealt with and the shower disinfected.
In the UK, we have baths although stand-alone showers are gaining in popularity (I usually soak in the bath last thing at night, it helps me to sleep). But the last time I showered, when I got out there was the HUGEST spider (must have been at least 1 1/2" inches, black, hairy) which I HAD TRODDEN ON without noticing. So it was fairly squished by my heel. I hopped out of the bath (shower is fitted over the bath fixtures) and screamed for Peter to deal with it. Then I got back into the shower to wash my foot again. Eurghhhhhh
It must have been clinging to the shower curtain and fallen off in shock at the sight of my naked body. Funnily enough, there haven't been any other spiders in the shower... maybe the word got round.
I enjoyed your post about the snake. LOL. Your right about the Twilight Zone. You were there and I enjoyed going there with you. Thanks for sharing your moment and your drawings.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Laure, but I couldn't keep from laughing as I read your commentary! Glad the snake was no threat (except to almost scare you to death!)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant commentary...and a true artistic soul. Holy Moley! You Rock!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLet's talk!