“It’s a snake? I LOVE snakes!” Did I really say that tonight? How did that happen?
Being from Louisiana, I grew up with a healthy respect for snakes. We have cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, copperheads and coral snakes–every venomous snake in North America. Plus big fat water snakes, long skinny black runners, and kingsnakes tough enough to eat them all. Scary stuff. In California it’s much simpler: stay away from rattlers and you’re safe. But that didn’t mean I enjoyed the company of snakes.
One of the things I love about mountain biking is the wildlife. Deer, rabbits, wild turkeys, and coyotes are commonplace on our trails. So are snakes. It took me years not to immediately recoil at the mere sight of them. Then comfort at a distance, and most recently, curiosity.
Tonight, when riding with crew from Passion Trail Bikes on their Wednesday Wride, we came upon this beauty, a California Kingsnake.
The guys in front of me stopped to check it out, and when I realized why, I pushed my way through the crowd and exclaimed, “It’s a kingsnake! I LOVE snakes!” As soon as I said it, I realized that I had been charmed by a snake. More precisely, charmed by my husband, aka Snake Boy.
Here he is with a Gopher Snake we encountered on another ride. See the excitement and boyish joy all over his face? He LOVES snakes. Is it possible for passion to be contagious? Even when it’s something you once avoided, even feared?
Have you ever become passionate about something because you saw the passion through another’s eyes?
