WELCOME TO MY AUTHOR PORTFOLIO
I recently saw reference to the state of Maine having nine native species of snake, none of which are venomous. A quick Google search shows that further north in Nova Scotia, there are but four native snake species, also none venomous. Go further south to Massachusetts, and there are fourteen different types of snake, two venomous. In Virginia, there are so many snake species (21) to warrant a Virginia Herpetological Society. Three are venomous. In Georgia, as you might expect, over forty species of snake, six venomous. If you are cold-blooded, there’s nothing like a large, warm southern state with lots of places to hide. Georgia also has a snake society, called the Georgia Herpetological Association and Rescue (G.H.A.R.) www.gaherp.com. One of their missions is to find forever homes for reptiles.
You wouldn’t want your home to be a forever home to any reptile if you suffered from herpetophobia, the fear of reptiles, including snakes, lizards, and even turtles. If you had ophidiophobia, you would have a particular aversion to snakes. But you might still listen to the song “Ophidiophobia” by Cee-Lo Green from the soundtrack for the movie Snakes on a Plane.
Australia is known for its weird and varied wildlife, including poisonous snakes. Strangely, New Zealand, like Ireland, has no native snake species. The Australian Snakebite Project (2005-2015) studied victims of snakebites and chronicled the treatments and outcomes. The conclusions? Venomous snakebites are rare, but sometimes deadly (2.8%). Tourniquets may not do much good, but CPR may help in cases of cardiac arrest. Antivenom is critical to saving lives, but expensive, and only stays good for 1 to 3 years. Fortunately, a single vial of antivenom may do the trick.
Every March 17 we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, whether he banished snakes from Ireland or not. Four months later we celebrate (or do we?) World Snake Day, on July 16, sponsored by the Advocates for Snake Preservation...ASP.
P.Sssssssss: The snake shown in the photo is the beautiful blue pit viper, native to Indonesia. Very poisonous.
PUBLISHED STORIES AND ESSAYS
OTHER PUBLISHED STORIES... AND ESSAYS
How To Eat Right
How To Manage Your Money
How To Stay Healthy
The Fall Of Squirrel
Cake Walk
Do-gooders Gotta Eat Too
Of Peas and Queues
Three O'clock in the Garden of Good and Evil
News Item
The Visitor
Mr. Blinkie To The Rescue
The Point System
Elements Of Success
She Spits to Conquer
The Tree Remembers
Christmas Time Is Here
The Sodfather
What MLK Day Means To Me
Thanks, Mussolini
The Cure
Tarzan In Decline
Side Effects
Greatest Of All Time
The Last Hundred Days
AWARDS AND HONORS
2017 Pushcart Prize nomination from Hawaii Pacific Review for The Last Hundred Days
2018 First Honorable Mention Short Story Division AWC contest
2018 Second Place Chattahoochee Valley Contest Short Story category
2019 First Place Flash Fiction Division AWC contest
2020 First Place Essay Streetlight Magazine
2020 Top ten finalist for The Opossum Prize
2020 Honorable Mention Stories That Need To Be Told Anthology
2020 First place Flash Fiction category in Seven Hills contest
2021 Second place Streetlight Magazine's Flash fiction contest
2021 Second place Seven Hills contest for flash fiction
2021 Second place Seven Hills contest for essay/memoir
2021 Third place Seven Hills contest for non-fiction
"Life is a moderately good play with a poorly written third act."
Truman Capote
"Writers aren't people exactly. Or, if they're any good, they're a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person."
F. Scott Fitzgerald
CURRENTLY READING
...or just finished
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The Order Of Time by Carlo Rovelli
Acknowledgments: Photos of Stonehenge courtesy of Trevor S. Key from our trip to England in 2015. Photos of ball pit courtesy of Amelia C. Key from our trip to NYC in 2019.
