|
Snake
Handling
by
Slim
Price
If
you
weren’t
afraid
of
snakes,
and
not
doing
something
else,
you
were
the
snake
handler.
Our
show
had
two
beautiful
pythons.
One
was
a
twenty-one
foot
Anaconda
and
the
other
was
a
nineteen-foot
Boa.
I
guess
I
was
the
only
one
strong
enough
(and
dumb
enough)
to
show
the
big
one.
Normally,
the
proper
way
to
show
a
big
snake
is
to
keep
it
from
getting
a
purchase
with
the
end
of
its
tail.
At
first,
I
had
the
devil’s
own
time
trying
to
hold
him
following
the
“rules.”
One
day
during
a
lecture
(show)
when
I
picked
him
(or
her)
up,
the
snake’s
tail
rested
against
my
thigh
and
the
thing
quieted
down
and
lay
like
a
huge
piece
of
rope!
At
first
I
was
terrified
(they
can
give
you
one
hell
of
an
infectious
bite)
until
I
figured
out
the
snake
only
wanted
to
have
that
contact
for
balance.
After
that,
I
was
the
permanent
snake
handler.
So
much
for
the
rules!
More
about
snakes:
When
we
arrived
at
the
Greater
Danbury
Fair
in
Connecticut,
we
found
the
rules
not
only
required
that
the
carnival
had
to
operate
during
the
day
because
of
the
disastrous
circus
fire
in
1944,
but
we
were
not
allowed
to
use
lanterns,
open
fires
or
our
generators.
Since
it
was
late
in
the
season,
and
we
were
almost
as
far
north
as
we
traveled,
we
were
worried
about
the
snakes
getting
too
cold.
At
that
time
I
slept
on
the
stage
in a
sleeping
bag
so I
was
“elected”
to
be a
snake
heater!
I
spent
a
week
there
with
two
snakes,
a
puppy
named
Caesar
and
me
in
that
sleeping
bag.
Interesting.
Although
snakes
have
clean
habits,
they
stink.
If
you
don’t
already
know,
snakes
are
not
slimy.
If
you
stroke
from
head
to
tail
they
feel
like
fine
leather.
(The
other
way
you
get
scales!)
There
are
few
things
more
beautiful
than
a
snake
that
has
just
shed
its
skin
and
the
feeling
of
power
in a
large
snake
is
memorable
to
say
the
least.
All
stories
are
the
property
of
Sideshow
Central
&
their
respective
authors.
Any
republication
in
part
or
in
whole
is
strictly
prohibited.
For
more
information
please
contact
us
here.
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