I just read this little entry in Facebook, written by my step-sister in Houston:

“I walk out back barefooted to talk to Gary who is watering plants & I step on something squishy. Its a CORAL SNAKE! Gary had to chase it around with a hoe to kill it & throw it in the forest behind us. Not a great start to Sunday morning. I still have shivers.”

One could say this is a terrible way to start a day, but I’m thinking just the opposite.  My step-sister Nancy escaped what would have been an extremely dangerous, possibly life-threatening situation completely unscathed.  She stepped on one of the most venomous snakes in the world, barefoot, and did not get bitten.

Here is something I did not know until this morning.  The United States is almost out of anti-venom to treat coral snake bites.  The production of the anti-venom ceased several years ago due to its unprofitability.  With fewer than 30 coral snake bites per year in the United States, the demand for anti-venom is simply too small to justify the expense of production.  If there is no demand, producers will not supply the product.  Nancy lives in Houston, a large metropolitan area with world-class medical facilities.  I suspect Houston has a stock of coral snake anti-venom.  Still, the time it would take to get to the hospital and bring the anti-venom to her specific location would have made this an extremely dangerous morning for my step-sister.

Fortunately, we did not have to worry about that.  The coral snake did not bite, and it never will.  Nancy’s husband made sure of that.  The snake is now dead, hacked into several pieces by a garden hoe.  Some may think that was a cruel thing to do to this beautiful creature.  As a long-time advocate of environmental protections for the species with whom we share this planet, I usually denounce those who kill animals for purposes other than providing sustenance.  However, I make an exception in this case.  If I had a coral snake living in my yard, I would likely take a hoe to it, too.  Sometimes, human survival trumps wildlife protection.

Nancy, I’m sure glad that snake didn’t bite you.  I’m glad it will never have the opportunity to do so.  To me, those two facts make for a wonderful Good News Sunday.

 Red on black, friend to Jack.  Red on yellow, kill a fellow.