Snakes

Scene:  Snake Charmer’s tent, The Souk, Marrakech, Morocco

After a More To Life Weekend in Spain, Valerie Burson (Houston), Felipe Gomez (Valencia, Spain), 2 other friends from the UK and I set out – short plane hop from Madrid to Marrakech. Marrakech. Exotic. Foreign. Mysterious. Intriguing. I was always fascinated by the name. (1960-ish song – the Marrakech Express)

First day – wandering through the souk (huge outdoor market – offering everything imaginable). OK. Twenty steps in, I spot the snake charmer tent. Curiosity bade me check it out. Snake charmer? Not a Texas experience. So I stop by. Before I know it, someone flipped a snake over my shoulders. I didn’t freak out, which surprised me, cuz I’m not a fan of snakes. I’ve hunted them. I’ve not worn one.

I figured “they” wouldn’t do that if it put foreigners at risk. (That’s not a solid axiom however.) There’s the proof. One of my friends snapped my pic of me not freaking out. Later I learned the snake was probably doped up. I was upset that snakes got treated that way, and then tried to reconcile that thought with the memories of shooting water moccasins at Barker Dam.  What a mixed up world I live in – so full of contradictions.