Coffee Gets Creepy
I am sitting outside on my little patio admiring the view with my laptop at hand. I was paged at 5:40 AM this morning to a call from a care giver unable to make her shift today. Of course, that is way too early to make calls for a replacement, so I went back to sleep and started my day at about 7:45 AM. So much for sleeping in, (frown here.) I eventually handled the scheduling problems by placing several calls and disturbing other employees. It's a wonder any of them like me at all.
After a long time of working on my laptop with my remote connection to the office computer and tinkering around on my social media sites, I went back into the kitchen for another cup of java. For some reason, I looked up and saw the shading of a snake inside my large kitchen light. After I verified what it was by staring and cringing at it for a while, I texted my landlord/friend, KP.
"OMG! There is a snake using the kitchen light as a heat lamp!"
Her text reply, "Are you afraid?"
My reply, "It's icky and I don't want to get it down alone." She came down to my apartment with the phone to her ear talking to the handyman, Ed. He is basically on call for her whenever needed as they have been friends for twenty years and former business partners.
I whispered to her, "I can't tell if it is one snake or two." She couldn't either so I tapped the long fluorescent light fixture with the broom handle. It uncoiled itself to stretch out it's two foot length. I kept cringing and knawing on my hand. I assumed it was a Gardner snake, but it still repulsed me.
Despite my knowledge that they are harmless, I kept having flashbacks of working in the garden on the farm where I was raised, and pulling up weeds to disturb these startling creatures. I also remember walking along the grass or garden pathway bare footed to step on them and have them slither away at speedy paces, still startling the beegeebies out of me. If I cried to my mom, she simply said things like, "Well put shoes on ya dummy." "They won't hurt you. You probably scared them as much as they scared you." Of course, none of this was very comforting.
Ed assured KP he'd be on his way to help. I felt bad that he was driving the twenty minute drive to capture the snake. I also have known Ed for a few years and know what a kind sole he is and how he is at KP's beck and call. I think he is on her payroll or something.
KP and I went to her kitchen to wait and when I saw Ed pull in, I immediately apologized for disturbing his Saturday morning. He assured me he had no plans, then of course he teased me. After I shared some of my childhood memories with him about snakes in the garden and my brother putting them down the back of my shirt when I was playing and he finding them while mowing the lawn, his tune changed a bit. He understood much more and gave me credit for not screaming or running across the water of the inlet. He simply said, "That's cruel."
With a step ladder, gloves, a box and tongs in hand, Ed took down the plastic covering of the light fixture. Of course it had slithered away a bit but he found it curled on top of the fluorescent light and pulled it down with the tongs and bravely threw it into the box. (Laugh here.) He rushed out of my kitchen as it tried escaping and I making frantic noises and racing outside ahead of him. We all chuckled during the little ordeal and enjoyed a cup of coffee together after the fact. We shared stories of childhood happenings while sitting on KP's deck in the sun. Of course, many stories revolved around snakes.
I told Ed I was going to post something on Facebook. He laughed and said, "Just call me the snake charmer." I think he enjoyed getting his ego fluffed a bit because of this. If nothing else, I got to know him a bit better as well.
This is how my Saturday morning coffee got creepy.
After a long time of working on my laptop with my remote connection to the office computer and tinkering around on my social media sites, I went back into the kitchen for another cup of java. For some reason, I looked up and saw the shading of a snake inside my large kitchen light. After I verified what it was by staring and cringing at it for a while, I texted my landlord/friend, KP.
"OMG! There is a snake using the kitchen light as a heat lamp!"
Her text reply, "Are you afraid?"
My reply, "It's icky and I don't want to get it down alone." She came down to my apartment with the phone to her ear talking to the handyman, Ed. He is basically on call for her whenever needed as they have been friends for twenty years and former business partners.
I whispered to her, "I can't tell if it is one snake or two." She couldn't either so I tapped the long fluorescent light fixture with the broom handle. It uncoiled itself to stretch out it's two foot length. I kept cringing and knawing on my hand. I assumed it was a Gardner snake, but it still repulsed me.
Despite my knowledge that they are harmless, I kept having flashbacks of working in the garden on the farm where I was raised, and pulling up weeds to disturb these startling creatures. I also remember walking along the grass or garden pathway bare footed to step on them and have them slither away at speedy paces, still startling the beegeebies out of me. If I cried to my mom, she simply said things like, "Well put shoes on ya dummy." "They won't hurt you. You probably scared them as much as they scared you." Of course, none of this was very comforting.
Ed assured KP he'd be on his way to help. I felt bad that he was driving the twenty minute drive to capture the snake. I also have known Ed for a few years and know what a kind sole he is and how he is at KP's beck and call. I think he is on her payroll or something.
KP and I went to her kitchen to wait and when I saw Ed pull in, I immediately apologized for disturbing his Saturday morning. He assured me he had no plans, then of course he teased me. After I shared some of my childhood memories with him about snakes in the garden and my brother putting them down the back of my shirt when I was playing and he finding them while mowing the lawn, his tune changed a bit. He understood much more and gave me credit for not screaming or running across the water of the inlet. He simply said, "That's cruel."
With a step ladder, gloves, a box and tongs in hand, Ed took down the plastic covering of the light fixture. Of course it had slithered away a bit but he found it curled on top of the fluorescent light and pulled it down with the tongs and bravely threw it into the box. (Laugh here.) He rushed out of my kitchen as it tried escaping and I making frantic noises and racing outside ahead of him. We all chuckled during the little ordeal and enjoyed a cup of coffee together after the fact. We shared stories of childhood happenings while sitting on KP's deck in the sun. Of course, many stories revolved around snakes.
I told Ed I was going to post something on Facebook. He laughed and said, "Just call me the snake charmer." I think he enjoyed getting his ego fluffed a bit because of this. If nothing else, I got to know him a bit better as well.
This is how my Saturday morning coffee got creepy.
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