Memoir – Heart of Loia `'.,°~

October 24, 2026November 3, 2026

The Only Time I Went to Jail ᵃᵈᵈᵉᵈ ᵃ ᵛᶦᵈᵉᵒ×²

I’ve only been to jail once in my life, and it wasn’t fun. But I’m glad I don’t have more experiences to write about on this subject 😁

It was the summer of 95′, I believe. I was 22.

I was hanging out at my good friend’s house that night. It was probably 2am, and we were sitting around chillin, enjoying the weekend. We had a few people over, and I was playing guitar, singing, and entertaining everyone.

Then my friend asked me if I would drive him over to another one of our friends’ houses. I forget why exactly, but he needed to get something from him or something like that. I’m not sure.

So I said that I would, but told him not to take any drugs with him because I didn’t want to be ridin’ around at 2 o’clock in the morning with drugs in my car.

He assured me that he would leave all the drugs at home lol 🏡

So we headed out. I had an old 1981 white Camaro at the time. We made it to our destination and hung out for about 30 minutes. Then we left and started making our way back home.

We were about halfway when the blue lights exploded behind me, almost blinding me as they reflected in all my mirrors.

So I pulled over, and the officer approached my window. He told me that he pulled me over because one of my taillights was really dim. He asked me a few questions, and I answered them. I was cool, calm, and relaxed. I’m not worried at all about anything.

Then he walks around to the passenger side and starts talking to my buddy. He was really nervous and kind of stuttering, not giving very good answers. But I didn’t think much of it because that’s just how he was a lot of the time.

So then the officer comes back to my side and says to me, “Your friend is acting very nervous. Do I have your permission to search the vehicle?”

And then I say, “This is just how he is sometimes, officer. Sure, you can search. We have nothing to hide.”

So he tells us to step around and stand at the back of my car while he does his thing. And we did.

So the cop 👮‍♂️ is on the passenger side looking around when suddenly he screams at us, “PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE AND DON’T MOVE!!!”

And I’m just like 🙆🤦 Then I say to my friend, “WTH, man?! I told you not to bring anything!”

He said nothing.

So it turns out he had a little baggie of drugs on him that he threw onto my floorboard because he got scared.

Then the officer cuffs us both, puts us in the back of his unit, and hauls our butts off to the county jail.

I got thrown into a small holding cell, just me and this weird dude.

The guy wore grooves on the floor just walking back and forth for hours, never speaking or even acknowledging my presence.

He had what looked like an old Polaroid photo in his hand. It had been ripped open, and I kid you not, he was licking whatever substance was inside it. He just kept walking back and forth, non-stop for hours, licking on that thing.

It was insane. I was just like, “Where am I right now?”

Finally, they came and got me, booked me, and put me in an open pod with maybe 40 other guys.

I was exhausted and ended up sleeping. The next day, I woke up, and it really hit me. I was in jail. 🫥

It was supper time now, and they brought us some food. So I sat down to try and eat. It was garbage. I just couldn’t do it.

Then this older guy sat beside me and tried to start up a conversation. He looked to be in his 40s, maybe. He asked me what I was in for, so I didn’t go into detail, but I told him a little bit about what happened.

Then I asked him the same thing. What did he do to get himself in such a wonderful place?

He proceeds to tell me this story about how his girlfriend’s parents don’t like him and don’t want the two of them together, so they’re trying to cause trouble for him.

That didn’t really add up for me, so I asked some more questions. How come they don’t want yall together?

Then he says, “They think she’s too young for a relationship.”

So I asked how old she was?

Then he says, “Well, she’s 12, but I love her, and they can’t stop us from being together.”

At this point, I just stood up, grabbed my tray, and walked away. I found somewhere else to sit.

I spent 3 days in there, giving serious thought to my life. Then my parents came and bailed me out.

I got myself an attorney and went to see him at his office. I told him everything that happened. He said to give him a week or two, and he would be in touch.

A few weeks went by, and my phone rang. It was him. He said he had some great news. He’d gone to see my friend in jail and gotten him to sign a statement saying that everything was his and that I had no knowledge of it.

That was such a great thing for my friend to do for me, and I’ll always appreciate him for that.

My charges were eventually dismissed, and he ended up getting charged with other things as well and stayed in jail for a while.

He and I are still friends today. He’s a Christian now and active in his church. He turned his life around, just like me.

Turns out that night in jail wasn’t the end of either one of our stories.

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

October 1, 2026October 18, 2026

It’s Beautiful Here

A story of my Grandmama and a song

I’ve been thinking a lot about my Grandmama lately. Today is her birthday. She would have been 93.

She passed away suddenly in the spring of 2oO4, and it was really hard on my family, especially my mama, because in those last few years, the two of them had a rocky mother-daughter relationship. And they just wasted the time.

They didn’t always see eye to eye or treat each other the way they should, and my mama was holding onto things that she had a hard time letting go of.

I’ve been flooded with memories of her today. I was her first grand baby, and she thought the world of me. She was always around as I was growing up. She helped raise me.

I even lived with her at times in the early 80s because my mama was really sick and in and out of the hospital for a few years, having major surgeries and almost losing her life several times.

Then later she moved in with us, so throughout my life I spent a lot of time with her. Just memory after memory.

I remember once, I had a breakup with my girlfriend at the time, and she started dating this new guy. Well, he and two of his friends decided to show up at my house, and they were looking for a fight.

So, I walked out in the driveway and faced all three of them by myself.

Well, I thought I was by myself until I turned around and saw my Grandmama standing there in her house coat with a broom in her hand, ready to swing it. Then she says, “I GOT YOUR BACK SON!”

I couldn’t believe it.

I was like, “Grandmama, put that broom down and go in the house before you hurt yourself, I got this.” Haha.

But she didn’t. She stayed right there with me as I proceeded to whip all three of them. 😁😎

She loved for me to sit around and play my guitar and sing for her. She would make requests. Like “Take Me Home Country Roads” by John Denver and a few others.

She would clap her hands and tap her feet, and sing along. She was an old school country girl, and she had a strong Southern drawl. She sounded like Dolly Parton when she talked. 😁

She was a special lady to me. She was a Christian, but she wasn’t always.

The story I’m about to tell… you can decide on your own what to think or feel about it. I’m just going to tell you what I witnessed that day.

It was the day after she died. I was at my mama’s house. And my mama was in very bad shape inside. The guilt she was feeling was just too much for anyone to handle, and I had never seen her this way.

It was as if she died too.

She so wished that she had of done things differently. Instead of always arguing. She wished she would have said “I love you” to her mother because she did. But now she couldn’t.

Ever.

Now, suddenly, everything that was keeping her from this when her mother was alive meant absolutely nothing.

My mama cried and cried and cried non-stop.

She decided to go out and sit in her garden for a while and be alone.

She had been out there for maybe an hour. I was standing in the kitchen drinking coffee and looking out the window. I could see her off in the distance sitting on a little bench wearing her big-brimmed sunhat, surrounded by her flowers.

When suddenly, she jumps up and starts running toward the house.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I immediately think the worst. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her run. So I thought something was bad wrong.

As she approached the back door, I hurried to meet her as I could hear her crying out my name.

She bursts through the door out of breath and in tears. But not the kind I thought. These were tears of joy.

She’s trying to talk, but she can’t really, and I’m like, “What happened? Are you okay? What is going on?”

Then she cries out and says, “I JUST TALKED TO MY MAMA!!! I JUST TALKED TO MY MAMA!!!”

Then she says, “YOU CAN SMELL HER ALL OVER ME!!! SMELL ME!!! SMELL!!!”

Then I began to smell my Grandmama’s perfume, and her scent spread through and filled the entire kitchen.

It was one of those powerful moments in life that you dont forget.

Come to find out, she says that God allowed her to have this moment with her mother.

She says they spoke. That she heard her voice. They both apologized and said, “I love you.”

And she said my Grandmama told her, “Jackie baby, I know you love me.”

Then she said, My Grandmama said, “It’s beautiful here.”

From that day on, my mama was okay. She put it all behind her and was able to find peace.

She got another chance.

She was able to say one last time, after the fact, what she couldn’t say in life.

And I think you know the moral of this one.

Happy Birthday Grandmama.

…

A John Denver Cover – Take Me Home Country Roads

…

© 2026 bryanforchrist. all rights reserved.

`’.,°~

September 24, 2026November 3, 2026

The Thing on Highway 98

A Thick Bible of Trucking Stories #4

A Ghost Story From Florida

How do you write what people actually want to read?

It’s a guessing game really, and what may interest you is just not my thing and vice versa. So who cares.

Hey, how about a ghost story?

A true one, that really happened to me late one winter night in 2o15 when I was living in Florida.

Or are you chicken? bawkity bawk?

If you’re scared, just say so. It’s ok to be. I would probably be too right now if I were you.

Cmon, man up, turn the lights out, take the covers off your head. Stop calling for your mama. You can handle it. I believe in you.

Okay, without further ado, let’s get into it. Before you change your mind and scroll away.

It was around 3 a.m. and I was driving to work, and my wife at the time was with me. I was working as a commercial driver, driving an 18-wheeler on a dedicated run twice a week. I would leave Lakeland Florida, and head up to Atlanta and get loaded, then back down to Jupiter Florida, I was delivering helicopter parts to Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, in Jupiter, where they make them, and then finally back home to Lakeland. The entire run was around 1,200 miles and took two days to finish. Then I would take a day off and do it all over again.

My truck was too big to keep at my house. There was no room for it. So I found a business down the road that had a secured, gated parking area for large vehicles, and I paid them monthly to keep it there.

So yeah, my wife and I were driving, I often took her along, she enjoyed it and it was nice for me also to have her, to help pass the miles, so we arrived at the storage place. I pulled up to the gate, punched in the code, voilà! the gate opened and I proceeded to drive to the back where I kept my big ole shiny black sexy brand new at the time Peterbilt 579 with 53-foot trailer.

So we pulled up and parked, got out and grabbed our bags and traded our little bitty Ford pickup for the big dawg Pete.

Also on a side note, after skillfully maneuvering the big boys around all the time, once you get behind the wheel of your personal vehicle, you feel like you’re driving a little go-cart or bumper car or something. No matter how big or what it is. It still feels so small in comparison.

We got in and got settled and I fired her up and started doing my pre-trip inspection and my log book and all the other paperwork, and entering everything in my onboard computer. There’s much more to it than just driving, like many think lol

It was always a ghost town around here at this time of night. No pun. No fun. Absolutely nothing or no one around, and it was an eerie place on an eerie stretch of road. Just had a noticeable feel to it. If that makes sense. Just had to be there to see for yourself.

I had been working this particular run for over a year and it was routine for me now and I was very familiar with it and my surroundings. Too familiar, actually lol.

So I got everything entered in my computer and all the freakin paperwork done, then one last look at all my dashboard gauges and air pressure and stuff, then a final nod and wink to my co-pilot and we are ready for take off.

Seemed like any other night.

The business sat right on Highway 98, and as I exited the gate and approached the road, I yielded and looked both ways and there was absolutely no other vehicles coming in either direction. We were totally alone. Or were we? So I slowly proceeded out. I crossed the two southbound lanes and made my way into the center turning area to make a left onto the two northbound lanes.

As I started the turn into the far right lane, I was going very slowly when suddenly my headlights hit the side of the road, I could not believe my eyes. WTH IS THAT!?! I slowed even more. So I could see.

She and I both saw it at the same time. She gasped loudly. Every hair on my body stood up as she said, “OH MY GOD, BRYAN, GO GO GO!”

It was right on the edge of the road, just a few steps into the grass, and it was directly in front of us, maybe 15 feet away, with my super bright headlights right on it, lighting it up like the noonday sun.

I can still see it so vividly in my mind today.

Would you like me to describe it to you?

I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.

It was a person, but yet it wasn’t.

It was wearing lighter colored semi baggy blue jeans and a red long sleeved hoodie sweatshirt.

It wasn’t transparent. It was a solid figure that you couldn’t see through at all.

About 5’8 or 5’9 and around 170 pounds if I had to guess.

And it was frozen there, looking through us. We were frozen too. We just knew at the time that it wanted us to see it.

Are you ready for the good part?

The hoodie was up and filled as if a head were inside it, but it had no face. Just thick utter darkness instead, that I can’t even describe well to you.

It had no hands. It had no feet.

And it appeared to be hovering maybe six inches or so off the ground.

It was just clothes that were filled out as if a person was wearing them.

But there was no person.

And it was staring us down, with no face or eyes.

My wife then cried out in fear again for me to “GO GO GO!”

And I did.

As I passed, I tried to look back in her passenger side mirror for another glimpse of it, but I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark and hard to tell.

…

We never saw it again but every time thereafter, when I drove by that spot I would nod and wink and think to myself, “Yep, right there, right there. That’s where that thing stood. That thing we saw. That thing we saw that night.”

…

I would like to hear your thoughts and comments.

Have you ever had anything like this happen to you?

What do you think we saw?

…

A Cover of Overkill by Men at Work

…

I’m 6’ft tall, but for some reason, I look short here idk. Maybe because the person taking the pic is up higher than me looking down. The Chocolate Hills on the island of Bohol in the Philippines 🇵🇭

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

September 14, 2026September 16, 2026

Real Life Hunger Games

It’s 9am on a Saturday morning and you’re in your kitchen, sipping coffee and trying to wake up and sober up from a crazy night of drunken naked twister with your neighbors Jim and Linda when suddenly you look out the window and you can’t believe your eyes. There’s 50 individuals dressed in full camouflage and carrying guns walking down your street.

WTH! OH NO… IT’S ARMAGEDDON! I MISSED THE RAPTURE! PUTIN IS ATTACKING!

Wait… hold up for a second, relax. Don’t freak out just yet.

Is it maybe possible that you and your vintage Volvo station wagon with the Flux Capacitor just somehow traveled back in time to my neighborhood in 1988?

If this is the case, then don’t worry. It’s not Putin.

It’s just me and my friends, and they’re just BB guns. We left our real ones at home today. Maybe tomorrow.

We are on our way to the woods behind your house to play war and shoot at each other.

It’s ok don’t worry. You’re safe, and we’ll try not to shoot your windows or each other’s eyes out. But I can’t promise ya.

Let the real Hunger Games begin. 😎

Ok… enough with the time travel. Let me really take you back to 1988.

Often on the weekends, all the guys in my neighborhood would get together in the woods and play war or capture the flag. Usually we would have around 10 people on a team and there was normally like 40 or more of us.

Everyone had BB guns. And many were high-powered pump rifles.

We had a 3-pump rule and no shooting in the face or manhood.

But those rules weren’t always followed. Luckily though, no one ever lost an eye, but many got wounded and ended up digging BB’s and pellet shrapnel out from under their skin.

And I’m willing to bet that still today some guys have trouble going through the metal detectors at airports. lol

Seriously though, it was no joke man. It was intense. Fight or flight. All-out survival. People were trying to literally freaking hurt you… shoot you and make you bleed. You had to play smart. Lol

It was real life Hunger Games.

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

September 5, 2026September 7, 2026

The Human Tugboat

What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done when no one was watching?

I’m not sure this is the bravest thing. I have some better ones I could write about but this just came to mind, a memory I had almost forgotten.

When I was young, growing up in Georgia, there was a beautiful 10 acre lake way back up in the woods behind my house. My birthday is in September, so I believe I was 13 at the time, about to turn 14.

Anyways, the lake was full of big bass and huge bluegill. Me and my friends spent many a day fishing it and sometimes swimming, but we had to be careful because it had its share of venomous water moccasin snakes, aka the Cottonmouth. I mentioned these in my earlier post on snakes, but if you got bit, there was no one around to help you and no way to call 911.

So one hot and humid summer day I borrowed my neighbor’s 12 foot aluminum jon boat. It was just what you call a blank hull. It had no motor or extras or seats except for bench type seating made into the body. It was as plain Jane as they come. It was also fairly lightweight as boats go and it had a long rope tied to the bow of it.

My friends and I would get 2 or sometimes 3 of us to a side and tote it with our fishing gear laid inside it, then walk the 45 minutes through the woods on the trails to get to the lake, stopping occasionally to rest.

So yeah, that particular day we made it to the lake, we put the boat in the water, paddled out and started fishing.

We didn’t care about life jackets in them days. They were for lil kids. We were grown ass men. Might as well have arm floaties on 😎😁

I remember the fish not biting that day, probably because it was so hot. After a while my friends got tired of fishing and began to joke around, goof off, act like dummies and started rocking the boat. Long story short, the boat filled with water then flipped and went under, so we all grabbed what we could and swam to shore. And we weren’t like panicked or anything, we were cool. It was no big deal. I had my rod and reel and my tacklebox in hand and still managed to make it, at times swimming on my back.

I remember I was pissed though because I had borrowed the boat and I was responsible for it. They didn’t really give a shit. They all ended up going home, but I stayed because another friend from a neighborhood on the other side of the woods was supposed to meet me there later that afternoon. Of course, we didn’t have cell phones back then, so I had no way of contacting him. I decided to hang out and wait.

I started back fishing from shore. As I looked out across the water, I noticed something. It looked like the very top tip of the boat was sticking out of the water. Then I realized it hadn’t sunk all the way.

I was so happy to see this and that it wasn’t at the bottom. I knew that long rope was still attached to it, so I thought if I could get to that, then maybe there was a chance to save it and pull the boat in.

I figured maybe it was somewhat buoyant being just a lightweight empty hull. Also, possibly it had some air or something trapped in it. I don’t know.

So I took my shoes and shirt off and got in the water and swam to the boat. It was a good ways out, probably 40 or 50 yards.

Did I mention I’m a great swimmer? Not to brag or anything but it is what it is for this story. 😁

Oh and also, there was absolutely no one around to save me if I got in trouble.

But I had to try. I didn’t want to have to look my neighbor in the eye later and tell him what happened.

So I made it to the exposed part of the bow and grabbed on and kind of rested for a spell. I was also able to tell that the boat was at a good angle and just sitting there about 4 feet under the water at the stern.

After I chilled for a few and regained some strength, I found the rope and pulled on the boat some and it began to move.

Ok I got this… here we go. Get ready, let’s give it a go and see what happens.

So I started swimming like a human tugboat. It was tough and it remained partially submerged, but I made it back to shore… with the boat, mind you. I was exhausted but never for a moment did I feel like I was in danger of going under. But if that boat went under, then my ass would really be in danger.

It was a great way to end a day of fishing.

Hey deddy… guess what? I caught a 12 footer today! You should have seen it!

And what can I say? Not too bad for a 13 year old Gen X kid, alone by himself in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a lake with a half sunken neighbor’s boat. 🤷‍♂️

…

Brad Paisley Cover… I’m Gonna Miss Her.

ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ⁱ’ᵛᵉ ᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵗʳⁱᵉᵈ ᵗʰⁱˢ ˢᵒⁿᵍ. ⁱ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʳᵉᶜᵒʳᵈᵉᵈ ⁱᵗ ᵃⁿ ʰᵒᵘʳ ᵃᵍᵒ. ᵖʳᵃᶜᵗⁱᶜᵉ ˡᵒˡ.

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

August 30, 2026September 3, 2026

I Shall Not Be Moved ¹⁴³

Possibly A Poema

You who want me dead
and often try instead.

Do you realize it’s been twenty years now?

off and on?

Have you ever thought that it’s just not time?

Time for me to go?

After all your tries I still pass by.

Seriously, just think.

Think of all the times.

How many is it now?

Eight? Nine?

Times that you’ve tried and I’m still here.

You sure make for great storytelling.

You must not know the things I know?

The ONE who’s by my side.

I dreamt all this in the nineties.

Before you ever knew me,

I knew you.

And…

In my dream

You were just a small white horse.

The Great Green Eyed Lion behind me,

HE saw you.

Saw that you wished me harm.

Then out from behind me HE came.

Came for you.

HE was angry with you
but delighted in me.

HE swallowed you whole.

Before I ever knew you,

you were already defeated.

Like pharaoh’s army,
The depths will cover you.

I’d turn back now.

This is a pivotal spot for you.

These things I know.

It’s not wishful thinking.

HE told me.

For me not to worry.

And I don’t.

And you don’t have to worry about me.

Yet you do.

The time has finally come.

For life to start again.

My life that is.

Yours too.

If you so choose.

Therefore…

These things I hope you’ll heed.

These things I know you’ll read.

And just like a tree,

planted by the waters

I shall not be moved.

An Old African-American Spiritual Folk Song From The South

Jeremiah 17:7-8 • Psalm 1:3
Psalm 16:8 • Psalm 62:6

featured image by Signeflinkart by Deviantart

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

August 24, 2026August 26, 2026

The Hair in the Burrito

The summer of 2oO6, not long after I got back from the crossroads, I left Atlanta with the clothes on my back and moved out to Dallas Texas, to live with a friend and start a new life.

I took a job driving 18 wheelers with FedEx Ground, and I ended up training new drivers fresh out of CDL school with zero experience. It was my first time teaching this stuff, and it was actually really rewarding. I have a lot of great stories I could tell you from those days, but I’ll save them for another time.

I want to tell you a different story about another type of truck.

Sometimes on my days off, I’d go down to this little Mexican food truck on the corner from my house. The food was incredible. I mean, it ranks right up there with some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had.

And the lady who owned the truck and cooked all the food was super beautiful.

I mean drop dead beautiful.

I remember thinking I’d never had anyone more beautiful take my order. I don’t even think I’d ever seen anyone more beautiful before. Maybe I had, but I’d have to really sit down and think about it.

One day I ordered a burrito and sat down at one of the little tables she had set up for her customers.

I got about three bites in when I felt something strange in my mouth.

I stopped chewing.

I was like, WTH?

I reached into my mouth with two fingers and pulled out a long black hair.

And I mean super long.

…

Part of it came out of my mouth, but the rest was still inside the burrito.

So I pulled.

And pulled.

Finally, the whole thing came out.

…

Wow.

I just sat there completely blown away.

I couldn’t believe it.

…

I’m so lucky.

…

So obviously I went back the next day and ordered another burrito, hoping for another hair.

…

I think I’m going to like it here in Texas 😎

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

August 23, 2026August 31, 2026

🎙️Sunday Songs From the Bathroom #20 My Crossroads Story

🎧 Covers From Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Tesla

I share some of my blog posts on my other platforms and with people I’m connected to in ministry. I’ve had quite a few people ask me about what happened to me with the crossroads thing, so I decided to share the story in an audio recording.

I also added 2 songs I just recorded, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “Love Song.” I hope yall enjoy them, and thank you for your continued support.

…

My Crossroads Story

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Love Song

…

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

August 21, 2026September 6, 2026

The Crossroads

If you could relive one day from your past, which day would it be and why?

I don’t even have to think about it. I never would have gone down to the crossroads.

Let me tell you this. It’s not some old, crazy myth or legend, although it sounds like one. It’s the straight-up truth, and for the past 20 years, my life has been the stuff of movies because of that one unforgettable, unbelievably stupid thing I did.

It’s also the main reason I blog today. I wanted a place to gather the stories from my life, so that in a few years, when I’m ready to write my memoir, it will be easier to paint the picture.

Oh, how I wish I could go back to that night. I would have kept my mouth shut and just gone to sleep.

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson

`’.,°~

August 19, 2026September 12, 2026

Red Touch Yellow Kill a Fellow ᶠⁱⁿᵃˡⁱᶻᵉᵈ

The other night my girlfriend and I were having a conversation about old sayings that have been around for hundreds of years or so, and it made me think of one that I actually use.

“Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, friend of Jack.”

This is an adage that some in the U.S. use, especially in Florida. It’s one way you can tell the difference between a harmless Scarlet King Snake and America’s cobra, the deadly Coral Snake.

I’ve always loved snakes. Growing up as an outdoorsy kid in Georgia and living in Florida for many years, I’ve had many encounters, mainly because I went looking for them lol.

As a boy and young teen, my friends and I would spend countless hours in the woods looking for snakes. If anyone in my neighborhood had a snake issue, they would call me. Venomous or not, it didn’t matter. I would take care of it.

I’ve been bitten many times by harmless ones, and I’ve had some close calls handling dangerous ones. One memory I can still see clear as day in my mind.

I was around 10 years old. My friends and I had been back in the woods fishing this particular creek, and there was like a little swampy area with a trickle of a waterfall about 10 feet high. So I started climbing up it.

There was this one small ledge. As I pulled my head up over it, I came face to face with one of the largest Water Moccasins I’ve ever seen, aka the Cottonmouth. Its head was about the size of a tennis ball, and it was all coiled up, just inches from my nose.

We were staring at each other there for a second, both of us surprised. Lucky for me, it was just relaxing and sunning itself.

I slowly lowered myself back below the ledge, and that was it. End of story.

Later in the evening, after talking with my girlfriend, I still had snakes on my mind, so I decided to go on Wikipedia and read about all the documented snakebite deaths in American history. It was just fascinating.

So many people were bitten while in church and later died. How effin crazy is that? Snakes in church is a whole nother subject for another time.

One story was especially sad. The pastor of this one church was letting his young pregnant wife handle a rattlesnake, I believe it was, and she was bitten. Both she and the baby died, and he had charges brought against him.

Another story was from the 1970s. A woman in Florida was driving one evening and had to pee, so she pulled over on the side of the road and went behind some bushes. She didn’t even know she had been bitten. She thought it was a thorn bush that poked her in the butt.

She was dead the next morning.

It wasn’t a thorn. It was rattlesnake fangs.

Many of the stories are interesting. I’ll post the Wikipedia link below in case anyone wants to check it out.

So let’s get back to the Coral Snake. It’s different from America’s other deadly snakes. Its venom is a neurotoxin, which means it targets the nervous system instead of destroying tissue. There may not be much pain or swelling, but it will totally shut you down and paralyze the diaphragm. The cause of death is respiratory failure. Without proper treatment, you don’t stand much of a chance.

Coral Snakes are Elapids, the same family as cobras, mambas, kraits, sea snakes, and like the brown snake and others found in Australia.

We have 3 species of Coral Snakes here in the U.S. The Eastern Coral, Texas Coral, and Sonoran or Arizona Coral.

I’ve handled some of the Eastern ones from my years living in Florida. From my experience with them, they have been pretty chill for the most part, but not always. I have seen them bite.

At times I would hold them freely without securing the head if I felt that particular one was calm enough. Don’t ever do this yourself. It’s best to not even handle them.

Here’s 2 lil quick stories.

One evening I was sitting out on my enclosed back patio and one slithered close to my feet. I ended up handling that one freely and took it to the woods on the edge of my backyard and released it.

Another time, I was standing in my backyard one morning having coffee and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fairly large one. I didn’t hold him loosely because he tried to open his mouth and bite a few times, and he showed me his 2 tiny needle teeth.

Elapids have different fangs from vipers or rear fanged snakes. They don’t fold back. They are just lil short, sharp, fixed, hollow needles.

I have so many stories I could tell you regarding my snake encounters, maybe some other time. I’m tired of writing now, and I want to go get some caffeine.

But yeah, snakes are so cool to me. Heck, ya know what? All living creatures are cool. And it’s funny how this story slithered into my mind from a conversation with someone who is the coolest of cool, my favorite living creature, my amazing girlfriend. ❤️‍🔥🐍❤️‍🔥

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