epiphanyctx on Collarspace

5/17/2016 9:06:06 PM

I work in Waco, TX. It is not a rural place. I drive a half hour to work. I live in a rural place. Today, I arrived at work at my scheduled time; early afternoon. During my lunch break, I ran a couple of errands. My shift ended, I clocked out, the supervisor locked up and headed to his truck and I headed to my little beater.

Something moved under the front edge of the hood on the drivers side! Popped itself under the hood as I came upon the car! I had myself a moment and tried to figure out how I was going to handle the situation.

I had left my phone at home because it's out of time and I'm between paydays. Boy, was that a mistake!

I didnt dare start the car because I didn't want chunks of whatever spread under the hood. I don't think my son would have appreciated it either, since I'm borrowing the little beater until I can get my Jimmy repaired. But that's another story.

So, I banged on the hood abit, went back around and pulled the latch to pop the hood. Walked back to the front of the car and debated for a good 5 minutes while taking a real good look into the grill and hood latch area.

I took a deep breath, popped the latch and raised the hood. Holy hell!!

There was a lovely, LARGE, snake curled up and around the alternator and belt. I just started laughing hysterically. Of all the vehicles parked on the side of the building, this critter chose mine. Or, maybe it hitched a ride with me from that afternoon. Who the hell knows.

Here I am with no co-workers, no phone, I don't remember anyone's phone number thats in my phone. Luckily, I have some options. I go in and talk to the cleaning crew and they let me borrow one of their cell phones. I call 911, tell the operator the situation and advise I need animal control as opposed to officers.

We have a laugh, I go back outside to wait and check in on the critter every few minutes to see if he's moved on. No luck, he just buries himself a little deeper and leaves his tail visible.

Six officers and one ride-along show up. Their solution after poking and prodding at it for half an hour until its no longer able to seen? Start up the car, the heat and vibration will scare it away. Oi.

In the end, as far as I know, I still have a lovely adult rat snake somewhere in the engine compartment of my vehicle. I hope he's warm and the vibrations from the journey weren't too disturbing. I'll get in there and poke around come daylight.