May 30, 2004
A Feast of Snakes
I've never been to a rattlesnake roundup, however I am sure they attract a certain element of society that I would find highly entertaining. I missed the Claxton roundup in March, and the Sweetwater, Texas monster the same week. Not that I would drive to Texas for a roundup, but I do find it interesting that they are generally held in late winter or early spring, when the lethargic creatures can be more easily harvested from their hibernacula.
There are seven roundups in Pennsylvania this summer, which I find to be greater sport. Instead of pouring gasoline down a hole, I think the snake ranchers should be forced to scavenge for them in barefeet, possibly wearing only thong underwear. I'm all about level playing fields.
Many people don't like rattlesnake roundups, of course. They are cruel to the snakes, they say, and they are driven by the skin trade, and they actually depress stockpiles of antivenin because snakebites go up due to the heightened human interaction (read: booze-addled good old boys just gotta play with them snakes in the cages).
I'm ambivalent on that issue, as I hate snakes. I just know the scene would be totally fucking insane, and that is the point in attending. Just as I am ambivalent on Elvis, but I never missed a Dead Elvis Tribute Week when I lived in Memphis.
Perhaps a Blogger Claxton Rattlesnake Roundup next March. Who knows? Maybe I can get Harry Crews to attend.