Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for November 12, 2011

Joannie suffers from ophidiophobia.

At least you don’t have to walk a snake.

What will Joanie do if the apartment gets cold at night and the reptile slides into her bed — or her jammies — to get warm?

Joanie’s suburban revulsion at Alex’s pet makes an interesting contrast with D.H. Lawrence’s poem, “Snake”:Someone was before me at my water-trough,And I, like a second comer, waiting.He lifted his head from drinking, as cattle do,And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,And stooped and drank a little more,Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earthOn the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.After throwing a log at him and chasing him away, Lawrence despises himself:And so, I missed my chance with one of the lordsOf life.And I have something to expiate:A pettiness.

I have come across moving grass with nothing visible except a lone park visitor. Damn!!! People who take their pythons and boas for “walks” should wear signs!

Last person I saw taking a snake for a walk just walked around with it inside his jacket. Sat down next to him and saw he had a snake head sticking out his collar.

“Snakes…..Why’d it have to be snakes?”

 “The world of men is dreaming, it has gone mad in its sleep, and a snake is strangling it, but it can’t wake up.” 

— D.H. Lawrence

It’s awkward when the roommate brings the 5-foot boa out, and it gets inside the couch. All up in the springs and stuffing. Thought we’d have to bring it out in segments, but later that day it came out all docile, looking for a warm companion. Bal- (the rosy -boa) was actually quite sweet. Roommate’s mice-terrarium was a great TV show for the dog, too.

It’ll give Joanie practice dealing with reptiles and forked tongues.

The only insight Alex can offer is how the neurotic self absorbed twit is going to vote.

I just saw the Garfield strip for today. That’s my reaction, fo sho.

http://thebloggess.com/2011/09/its-hard-to-rattle-texans/

The dreaded trouser snake, if it bites a woman her bellywill swell up

If it gives you a hug, no sudden movements!

Since GT is laying off on controversial commentary this morning, I thought I’d go back to the ‘gloom-and-doom’ discussion from a few days back. It’s not ALL bad news on the overpopulation front.Brazilian women have decided – against the rules of both church and state – to have less children. Brazil is now below “replacement rate”. Amazing what people can do when they stop acting like animals . . .And interestingly, a major factor in women choosing to breed less – is tv!http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/girl-power/gorney-text

Take the snake out for a bit of a slither…

I had a pet boa for awhile. It liked to curl up in back of the toilet. It surprised one too many quests and so I had to get rid of it.

I’m guessing Joanie saw the snake dining…

True story:Back in his heyday Alice Cooper featured a big ass snake in his concerts. He appeared in Knoxville one night, staying overnight at one of local hotels. The following morning they noticed the snake had gotten out of it’s cage and had disappeared. They searched the hotel room with no success. Eventually they gave up on finding it and moved on to the next town.A week later C&W performer Charley Pride played a show in K’ville and stayed in the same hotel room. During the night he was awakened by something moving around inside of the mattress. And I guess you know the rest of the story.

In Special Forces training group had a bud who kept snakes in his locker. A couple of interesting stories came out of THAT. And him, too.

I don’t suppose they let that sort of thing happen in today’s corporate uptight Army…but there’s no KP, either.

“Wow, I can’t believe I gave you such an easy setup.” Thanks, patriot. Thing is, I ID w/Joanie (& Elizabeth Poe).

I don’t mind non-poisonous snakes so much but I hates mice and especially rats and would hate to keep them around LIVE for the snake’s food supply.

“ophidiophobia” – what a musical word!

@jrmerm; how can alex be so typical? isn’t she much too smart?

@corzak; I read the article about Brazilian women. Most interesting! Much of what I learn about the world comes to me thru the Internet, and often from links in the comments on the cartoons.

The verb “to know” in Hebrew is not pornographic; it may be euphemistic (as in Adam “knew” his wife). There’s a difference. (And, yes, I’ve studied biblical Hebrew at the graduate level.)