Because it...

scared the living BEJEEBIES out of me!

Not many things scare me...except maybe children hiding in the tall corn in the field by my house who like to stalk me at dusk while I walk...and night creatures that rustle the grass and bushes making it difficult for me to hear the children stalking me through the corn...and bats that swoop my head.

But THIS venomous thing that slithered right next to my son's bare feet hissing before sliding into the pit by the basement window is totally the winner! Now I'm out there in my nightie and underpants and flip flops with this adrenaline pumping and I do the logical thing. I grabbed the only shovel I could find (it was a short one) and without any regard for my own safety, I brought it down on this snake while it was under the leaves. When it came out from under the leaves I recognized it. It's a nasty Cotton Mouth. But I'm this tough ol' country girl, right?

Yeah.

So.

I put on a pair of blue jeans and my boots that come up to my knees because, HEY this thing is poisonous. I'm on the phone with my friend's husband and I go borrow a long handled shovel from another friend's house (because the one I had was just too short) and I'm holding this shovel in the air ready to strike and I freeze in fear and these tears pop into my eyes.

Uh. No. My KID is watching. And I'm this tough ol' country girl. Right?

So I walk away (the snake is still in the pit just hanging...evidently I had hurt it pretty bad) and I take this deep breath and still my racing heart. I get back into position and I totally freeze up. This thing just scared the living crap out of me.

So my girlfriend's husband drove twenty minutes to my house to save me from the venomous snake.

Because I'm a tough ol' country girl who's afraid of the Children of the Corn, night creatures in the grass, bats that swoop my head, and poisonous snakes.