Anyone Need a Snake Head Popper?

This evening when I walked out with Ken to feed the cats, dogs, chickens, and rabbits, he asked me to turn on the water hose.  As I was reaching behind the stoop he said, "Now, watch out for snakes.  There could be one near by."  I'm not afraid of snakes or spiders or anything like that...I'm afraid of mice...but that's another story...His warning of the snakes reminded me of one of my all-time favorite Ken & Snake stories!  We were living in Natchitoches and our neighbor was the basketball coach at NSU.  Coach "Jones" kept an immaculate yard with immaculate hedges.  Ken will tell you that his hedges were like a table top...smooth and straight.   One evening Ken and Jonathan  walked over to Coach's to ask him something or other that's when Ken spied a snake on the table-top hedge.  He pointed it out to Coach.  Coach shivered, evidently snakes are not his favorite species.  Now Ken loves to listen to the old-timers and he'd heard quite a few of them talk about "popping" the head off of a snake.  He, personally, had never done this nor seen it done, but he was definitely interested in trying so he spoke up to the situation.  "Coach, would you like me to "pop" its head?"
"Well, Preacher, can you?"  If I'd been there I would probably have saved him on that one...Really, is there anything this man can't do?  And if you dare say, "Can you?"  That's like saying, "It's on like a chicken bone!" 
Ken replied, "Sure, I'd be glad to."  He reaches for and grabs the snake by the tail.  Ken had not anticipated the snake turning for his arm...When that happened Ken let go of the snake, threw it up in the air, and wouldn't you know it, the snake hit Coach's porch ceiling and came down around Coach's neck...The whole community heard the blood curdling scream as Coach took off running across his front yard bent over  with the snake dangling down both sides of his neck.  I looked out the front door just in time to see the snake slither back to the ground and Coach backing away holding his heart as the snake was coiling for a strike.  Then Coach stormed into his house slamming the door.  The worst part of the scene was Ken was slapping his knee laughing so hard it's a wonder he didn't hurt himself.  Jonathan just looked at Ken and said, "Daddy is Coach mad at you?" 
Ken, "Well Jonathan, looks like he might be.  Go get the hoe."  Jonathan went and got the hoe, Ken killed the snake and a year later Coach spoke to him again.

Moral of the story:  If Ken is going to pop the head of a snake, I'm going inside...That's how I roll!!!