modessitt
Volunteer: Encyclopedia Submission Moderator
The sometimes strange perils of arcade service calls....
So, I'm out about an hour out of town delivering a repaired/refurbished Playboy pin and Space Invaders Deluxe, and replacing all the flourescent lights in a Tron and Moon Patrol, when I hear the lady of the house yell.
Went to check that she was okay and discovered what the problem was. Turns out she was cleaning the window sills near the outside door to the gameroom (which was open at the time), and she moves a chair aside to see this:
For reference, that window is about 32" wide. It didn't have a rattle (I think it's a water moccasin as we were right on the lake), but it flattened and widened it's neck, and made a hissing type of sound (as it breathed out) that we could hear through the glass.
I got a broom from the lady and went out and drug it out from under a bush it was trying to hide under, pinned it down behind the head with the broom bristles, grabbed the tail, used the broom to hold the head down while I drug it down the driveway, and tossed it across the road into an empty field. The lady was trying to find a shovel so I could kill it, but I didn't think that was necessary.
So - is it a water moccasin? And is it poisonous? I didn't see any big fangs when it had it's mouth wide open while I was holding it. Stretched out, it was between 2-3 feet long.
Oh, and it pissed/shit on the sidewalk while I was trying to hold it down....
So, I'm out about an hour out of town delivering a repaired/refurbished Playboy pin and Space Invaders Deluxe, and replacing all the flourescent lights in a Tron and Moon Patrol, when I hear the lady of the house yell.
Went to check that she was okay and discovered what the problem was. Turns out she was cleaning the window sills near the outside door to the gameroom (which was open at the time), and she moves a chair aside to see this:
For reference, that window is about 32" wide. It didn't have a rattle (I think it's a water moccasin as we were right on the lake), but it flattened and widened it's neck, and made a hissing type of sound (as it breathed out) that we could hear through the glass.
I got a broom from the lady and went out and drug it out from under a bush it was trying to hide under, pinned it down behind the head with the broom bristles, grabbed the tail, used the broom to hold the head down while I drug it down the driveway, and tossed it across the road into an empty field. The lady was trying to find a shovel so I could kill it, but I didn't think that was necessary.
So - is it a water moccasin? And is it poisonous? I didn't see any big fangs when it had it's mouth wide open while I was holding it. Stretched out, it was between 2-3 feet long.
Oh, and it pissed/shit on the sidewalk while I was trying to hold it down....
