We were asked to spend 2 weeks at one of the factories of the company that we worked for...
What a cool opportunity! One of the reasons was that it left every evening open for discussion...which is something that we never did! Also...
Being out in the "middle of nowhere" did not tempt either one of us to deviate from the evenings together...we were the only entertainment available!
I did have one thing that I wanted to do...that I knew he would not take part in...he didn't like extreme physical activity...or non-value activities (those for personal edification only)...
I had set a personal go to stand on the highest natural point in every state in the US! It was kind of a stupid goal...but for some strange reason I wanted to do that! I had not been to the highest point in this state...so I figured that I would take Saturday and do that...leaving Sunday open for the two of us...
When I told him about my plans...he invited himself along and told me that he'd sit in the rental car and wait for me...while I fulfilled that hunger...
"I would rather sit in the car and wait...than sit in the room and worry!" WORRY!?! I guess that was his excuse for riding along!
He knew that I was a decent climber and had made harder climbs, like in Montana, Washington or Alaska. I had all of my equipment shipped to the factory and checked it out...I even bought a few extra items to make the climb even easier....just in case...and it was cool to get all of the cool gear too!
I always, I grabbed a map and picked the easiest route! We could drive within a few thousand feet from the top...and most of the trek would be on paths...A no brainer! My goal was to be simply at the highest point...not to make the climb difficult too! I was no fool!
As anticipated, I made the climb...in fact...I never used any of the equipment and walked the entire way...in fact, I ditched most of it on the way up and gathered it back up on the way down!
When I returned to the car...I noticed that he wasn't sitting in it...in fact...he was nowhere to be seen!
For a moment my heart jumped...and I called out his name...and he immediately responded...WHEW! I could see the headlines now..."OLD GUY LOST WHILE WAITING FOR A HIKER!" BUT...
He came shuffling out of some scrub brush, holding something that sent primal shivers up my spine! A HUGE rattlesnake!
"Look what I found!" he said as he held it out to me!
"I hate snakes" I replied..."ESPECIALLY poisonous ones!"
"Take it" he asked, "I have been holding this thing to show you for more than an hour and I am getting tired!"
"NO WAY!" I refused, "It is poisonous! You are just asking for trouble!"
"A snake is a snake...it is all in how you handle it!" he replied...and he began to give me lessons in snake handling...
I took a few quick lessons...and pocketed another primal urge...the one to take this species one snake closer to the categorization of endangered!
No sooner than I had a good grip on the snake...he reached into his pocket and lit up a cigarette!
"I was beginning to hate this snake..." he commented, "Holding a poisonous snake is a great way to cut down on smoking though!"
I knew that this snake was about to become an object lesson for me...
How? I had no idea...but he wouldn't go through that much trouble just to show me a snake!
He would not have put so much effort into one of these creatures for any other reason!
I...on the other hand enjoy things of nature...I have had some extreme pets...and grew up with nature...but nothing deadly! This was a new experience for me! In a way...it was kind of exciting!
"I have a feeling that I have some lesson to learn from this thing...RIGHT?" I asked...
"Yes you do!" he replied...
"It hit me when I was walking around and heard its warning...the rattle! In fact if you walk off the path...you'll be surrounded by rattles! It is an eerie sound!" There are hundreds of those snakes just off the path!"
I shuttered at that thought!
"So I caught one of the smaller ones for you!" he continued...
I shuttered at that thought too...because the snake that I held was just under 5 feet long!
As I held it...I couldn't help but marvel it the beautiful markings and the tail itself (a thing to behold)! (It was a Diamondback Rattler) The snake's eyes were beautiful...it actually was quite a wonder...Its mouth would open and threaten me with a bite...that was definitely not a jaded threat...I could see the curved fangs protruding from its fleshy foundations...
"Would you be insulted if I let it go back to its family?" I asked, "Unless your lesson is about how to cook a snake...I am really tired of holding this thing"
"He smiled and CAREFULLY took it from me and walked back into the brush...
In a few minutes he returned triumphant...with a funny look on his face...he was about 10 feet from me and without warning...he fell flat on his face!
My heart jumped! I had no idea how long snake venom took to kill its victum!
His fall was unexpected and quick...before he hit the ground...my mind jumped to snake bite emergency procedures and how I was going to handle the 4 hour trip to the hospital...and how I would notify the company he died mentoring me...and on and on...how could I explain that it was an object lesson!
But as soon as he hit the ground...he let out a few choice explatives in two or three languages...and cursed the loose rock that he stepped on...taking his already fragile footing out from underneath him! Then he broke out in a major belly laugh! He rolled on the ground...and I tried to pick him up!
"I thought..." I began...and he broke in!
"It was funny...I was thinking about what would happen...if I had gotten bitten...as I was coming back...and then as I fell...I actually thought you would think...that I got bit"
"Did I scare you?" he chuckled
"Was this part of the lesson?" I asked
"NO! Look at my pants! No object lesson is worth these tears and abrasions!" He uttered, "How many more of these climbs do you have to do?"
"I ignored that question and admonished, "Let's not do anything that stupid again!"
He looked at me and repeated, "How many more of these climbs do you have to do?"
"3" was my reply...
"I'll stop the snake thing...if you get those 3 climbs over with and commit to "sea-level!" "Deal?"
"DEAL!" I confirmed
There would be other object lessons in my future...but none as daring as snake handling...and I can tell you that I was relieved at that promise!
We opened the trunk of the rental car and took out a "drive-through" lunch. The shade from the lid actually was not needed. In the sun, it was warm and friendly...in the shadow it was cold...so we closed it and sat on the car!
As we ate and soaked up the sun in the "thin air" we talked...about the view...and our experiences over the past week...and I mended his wounds with my first-aid kit that I carried for "emergenices just like that! Boy Scouts taught me to "Be prepared!"
Then he changed the subject and focused it on what he was previously thinking...
"Let's go back to the snake and what thoughts it brought to mind!"
Our world is like snake handling! Every situation and every person that we encounter is like that rattler...
Which ones do you think you have to be the most scared of?
My reply was almost immediate..."THE BIG ONES!"
"Just the opposite!" he scowled.
"The little ones have venom that is much more concentrated...the big one have more venom!" "But, that is not what we are to learn!"
"EVERY situation and every person has the potential of being a snake...and EVERY situation and every person has the potential of being lethal..." "how you fare...is not in how they react to you...but in how you handle them!"
"That snake that we had...would have loved to bite you! By the time you held it...it had enough of being handled and it wanted to get away! When I first caught it...it was nasty...then it calmed down...then when I handed it off to you...it got really nasty again!"
I thanked him for that wonderful opportunity...and he laughed...
"There is nothing worse than a second-hand snake!"
"Most of the situations and people that we encounter are secondhand...they have been handled poorly...and then given to you to control!"
"Usually by the time you get them...all they want is to bite you and get back to their security!"
"If you know how to handle the situation...you can survive...but it calls for absolute adherence to whatever discipline is required...if you relax...it will bite you...you have to be on your toes...ready to react and adjust...you have to be more aware...more on edge..."
"You didn't have to worry about that!" I noted...and he smiled...a knowing smile!
"My point!" When you are aware of danger...you go into the proper mode..."
"Most people make the mistake of relaxing and that is when they get bitten..."
"Lethal situations are decieving!" "They are small and concentrated..."
"Sharks attack from out of the depths...cougars lunge from the bushes...snakes strike from crevasses...lightening from out of the blue..." "That is life"
"Situations and people will lull you into believing that you are safe...and then the lethal strike comes!"
"Those who spend the most time lulling you...are the ones you most have to distrust!"
"You have heard the old saying...where there is smoke...there is fire?""
"If someone is blowing smoke up your (backside) then at sometime...that same person will burn your (backside)!
(He has such a wonderful cynical side)
"Life is an interesting beast...and your survival all depends on how you handle it..."
"Handling life is not one of those "with care" things" You have to handle it appropriately! Sometimes strong and firm and other times...gently!"
"Do you want to go back in the brush and see how many snakes are sunning themselves?" "It is amazing!"
I turned down the offer...and he laughed!
"Don't push your luck...I like that!"
"At any moment...if you are unprepared...it is going to bite you!"
"Where is your next climb?"
"Mt Elbert, in Colorado...next weekend on my way home" I replied..."Its an easy one!"
"Be careful...it could be a 1 foot rattler if you are not cautious" he admonished...
The next weekend I fell a tethered fall...almost 100 feet...when a run of pitons pulled out!
Over the course of my career...it was when I was lulled...that I was bitten...
Be on guard...it is the rattle that you do not hear...and the information that you are not given...that clouds your perception of safety...
"Yes you do!" he replied...
"It hit me when I was walking around and heard its warning...the rattle! In fact if you walk off the path...you'll be surrounded by rattles! It is an eerie sound!" There are hundreds of those snakes just off the path!"
I shuttered at that thought!
"So I caught one of the smaller ones for you!" he continued...
I shuttered at that thought too...because the snake that I held was just under 5 feet long!
As I held it...I couldn't help but marvel it the beautiful markings and the tail itself (a thing to behold)! (It was a Diamondback Rattler) The snake's eyes were beautiful...it actually was quite a wonder...Its mouth would open and threaten me with a bite...that was definitely not a jaded threat...I could see the curved fangs protruding from its fleshy foundations...
"Would you be insulted if I let it go back to its family?" I asked, "Unless your lesson is about how to cook a snake...I am really tired of holding this thing"
"He smiled and CAREFULLY took it from me and walked back into the brush...
In a few minutes he returned triumphant...with a funny look on his face...he was about 10 feet from me and without warning...he fell flat on his face!
My heart jumped! I had no idea how long snake venom took to kill its victum!
His fall was unexpected and quick...before he hit the ground...my mind jumped to snake bite emergency procedures and how I was going to handle the 4 hour trip to the hospital...and how I would notify the company he died mentoring me...and on and on...how could I explain that it was an object lesson!
But as soon as he hit the ground...he let out a few choice explatives in two or three languages...and cursed the loose rock that he stepped on...taking his already fragile footing out from underneath him! Then he broke out in a major belly laugh! He rolled on the ground...and I tried to pick him up!
"I thought..." I began...and he broke in!
"It was funny...I was thinking about what would happen...if I had gotten bitten...as I was coming back...and then as I fell...I actually thought you would think...that I got bit"
"Did I scare you?" he chuckled
"Was this part of the lesson?" I asked
"NO! Look at my pants! No object lesson is worth these tears and abrasions!" He uttered, "How many more of these climbs do you have to do?"
"I ignored that question and admonished, "Let's not do anything that stupid again!"
He looked at me and repeated, "How many more of these climbs do you have to do?"
"3" was my reply...
"I'll stop the snake thing...if you get those 3 climbs over with and commit to "sea-level!" "Deal?"
"DEAL!" I confirmed
There would be other object lessons in my future...but none as daring as snake handling...and I can tell you that I was relieved at that promise!
We opened the trunk of the rental car and took out a "drive-through" lunch. The shade from the lid actually was not needed. In the sun, it was warm and friendly...in the shadow it was cold...so we closed it and sat on the car!
As we ate and soaked up the sun in the "thin air" we talked...about the view...and our experiences over the past week...and I mended his wounds with my first-aid kit that I carried for "emergenices just like that! Boy Scouts taught me to "Be prepared!"
Then he changed the subject and focused it on what he was previously thinking...
"Let's go back to the snake and what thoughts it brought to mind!"
Our world is like snake handling! Every situation and every person that we encounter is like that rattler...
Which ones do you think you have to be the most scared of?
My reply was almost immediate..."THE BIG ONES!"
"Just the opposite!" he scowled.
"The little ones have venom that is much more concentrated...the big one have more venom!" "But, that is not what we are to learn!"
"EVERY situation and every person has the potential of being a snake...and EVERY situation and every person has the potential of being lethal..." "how you fare...is not in how they react to you...but in how you handle them!"
"That snake that we had...would have loved to bite you! By the time you held it...it had enough of being handled and it wanted to get away! When I first caught it...it was nasty...then it calmed down...then when I handed it off to you...it got really nasty again!"
I thanked him for that wonderful opportunity...and he laughed...
"There is nothing worse than a second-hand snake!"
"Most of the situations and people that we encounter are secondhand...they have been handled poorly...and then given to you to control!"
"Usually by the time you get them...all they want is to bite you and get back to their security!"
"If you know how to handle the situation...you can survive...but it calls for absolute adherence to whatever discipline is required...if you relax...it will bite you...you have to be on your toes...ready to react and adjust...you have to be more aware...more on edge..."
"You didn't have to worry about that!" I noted...and he smiled...a knowing smile!
"My point!" When you are aware of danger...you go into the proper mode..."
"Most people make the mistake of relaxing and that is when they get bitten..."
"Lethal situations are decieving!" "They are small and concentrated..."
"Sharks attack from out of the depths...cougars lunge from the bushes...snakes strike from crevasses...lightening from out of the blue..." "That is life"
"Situations and people will lull you into believing that you are safe...and then the lethal strike comes!"
"Those who spend the most time lulling you...are the ones you most have to distrust!"
"You have heard the old saying...where there is smoke...there is fire?""
"If someone is blowing smoke up your (backside) then at sometime...that same person will burn your (backside)!
(He has such a wonderful cynical side)
"Life is an interesting beast...and your survival all depends on how you handle it..."
"Handling life is not one of those "with care" things" You have to handle it appropriately! Sometimes strong and firm and other times...gently!"
"Do you want to go back in the brush and see how many snakes are sunning themselves?" "It is amazing!"
I turned down the offer...and he laughed!
"Don't push your luck...I like that!"
"At any moment...if you are unprepared...it is going to bite you!"
"Where is your next climb?"
"Mt Elbert, in Colorado...next weekend on my way home" I replied..."Its an easy one!"
"Be careful...it could be a 1 foot rattler if you are not cautious" he admonished...
The next weekend I fell a tethered fall...almost 100 feet...when a run of pitons pulled out!
Over the course of my career...it was when I was lulled...that I was bitten...
Be on guard...it is the rattle that you do not hear...and the information that you are not given...that clouds your perception of safety...
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