A Sight That "Scares the Crap" out of Most Americans

According to a 2014 survey, snakes (at 64 percent) rank at the top of Americans' fears, followed by heights (at 57 percent) and public speaking (at 56 percent). Older Americans (79 percent of people older than 65) are significantly more afraid of snakes than younger Americans (61 percent of those under 30).

Reckon those statistics explain why a snake found in the toilet of Kempsville residents James Hooper and Kenny Spruill created such a stir this week, as reported by Robyn Sidersky in the pages of today's The Virginian-Pilot.

It took Kenny's grabbing a fishing rod out of the back of his truck and fashioning a noose to slip over the snake's head to get the situation under control. Once the noose was snugly in place, Kenny just started reeling in the snake, but not before it managed to "take some drag," as he remarked.

It should be noted here, too, that Kenny had the landlord standing by with a shovel, "just in case it got loose," as he explained.

Meanwhile, Hooper called animal control. The officer who responded allowed the three-and-a-half-foot, half-black and half-albino snake to "wrap around her arm...like it was nothing," said Hooper.

After having read that local item this morning, I went to nosing around the Internet to see what else I could find in a similar vein. In the process, I stumbled across this photo of Mike Spears, who caught a snake during the 2016 Bassmaster Pro Shops Southern Open #3.

The obvious question that, as far as I'm concerned, begs to be asked here is, "Why aren't you releasing your catch, so you can get back to fishing?" I doubt that staring at it will do the job.

Following this incident, the Bassmaster staff asked their Instagram audience what they would do if they reeled in a snake, instead of a fish. Here are some of the answers they received:

     * It's one of those times when you just cut the line.

     * I'd shoot it to get my lure back.

     * I'd cast it in a tree and cut the line.

     * I'd cast it into Iaconelli's boat.

     * I'd break out the boat paddle and put it to good use.

     * Cut the line or burn the whole rod.

A couple of lessons learned that immediately spring to mind here are as follows:

     * Look before you sit.

     * Make sure you know what you're about to swing into the boat.