Jolt

When I was attending a fund-raising event on Saturday, I noticed some kind of kids’ event happening on the other side of the park. I could hear a woman talking over a microphone, but I couldn’t tell what she was saying. The squeals from the cluster of kids made me curious.

“Go over and find out,” Retired Principal said to me. “I’ll stay with the table.”

When I walked over, I noticed a couple of big coolers near the Microphone Woman. I had no idea what she was saying: her words were garbled so I tuned them out. Perhaps she was giving out free drinks. I see that in parks all the time, and even at the ski slopes, companies promoting some new sugary, caffeine-filled drink.

But the kids weren’t drinking anything. and they seemed to be staring at a teenager in a green shirt who had her back to me. I edged my way over to the teenager to see what the attraction was. I was only a few feet away when she turned suddenly.

She was holding a snake.

She smiled at me and went over to put the snake back in the cooler. I felt relieved that I hadn’t opened a cooler to get a free drink.