My favorite Deb story

(originally written 9/30/06)

It was just after we moved to Tampa, and we rented a small cottage near the river. One morning I stepped outside to get the paper and noticed what appeared to be a rubber snake next to the steps leading to the front door. Great, I thought. Some kid left a rubber snake lying around.

I kept looking at it, then thought it looked awfully real to be a toy. It didn't move, but it looked really authentic.

I stepped back inside and called Deb. She was a fan of nature shows, so I figured if anyone could tell a real snake from a fake one, it'd be her.

I stood in the doorway as she stood on the front porch, looking at the snake for a minute, and like me, she kept going back between thinking it was real or rubber. Then she stepped off the porch and picked up a stick. She prodded the snake, and it moved.

She screamed, I jumped back, and she raced inside, slamming the front door and locking it.

I burst out laughing. "Great, honey," I said. "We all know snakes can't open locks."

It took her a while to forgive me.