Memoir

Pets in general are lovable. Of course, who doesn’t love a dog? Or a cat? A fish, maybe? But in my case, it’s different. Not because I dislike innocent animals but because I have this extreme within me since childhood. You may not believe it but what I do the love are one of the most â€Å"unloved† and feared living creatures in this world —snakes and reptiles. I don’t know what it is about these cold-blooded creatures that attracted me most but for as long as I can remember, I have always been passionate about them. Lizards arouse my curiosity while snakes give me a sense of mystery and excitement. Even as a grown up now, I can still vividly recall my first encounter with a rattlesnake which was one of the scariest experiences I ever had. It was one bright, sunny morning and we were playing in the woods. The summer heat was conducive for outdoor activities and our â€Å"gang† has gathered once again to welcome the long school break. Careless and jolly, I was only 10 then and I was chasing my ball after it was tossed away in a very secluded area. I could not even remember what game was that but I was running after the ball and as soon as I entered the isolated zone, I felt shivers in my nape which gave me the creeps. I had cold sweats just as the earth was cold and moist and there were dried, wrinkled leaves scattered all over. I moved quite slowly not knowing what’s in store in there. I looked everywhere for my ball using my telescopic vision. I was quite good in finding things and stuff. As soon as I found the ball behind a moss-filled rock, I heard this eerie hissing sound. Sensing that it might be a snake, I was agitated that I wondered where it could be hiding. I said to myself, â€Å"This is a chance of a lifetime!† I was thinking twice at first anticipating the danger it could do to me. Anti-venoms were difficult to find during those days. Nevertheless, I hesitated. Out of curiosity, I kicked the rock hard and there it was†¦a fat, healthy rattlesnake! I suppose it was taking a nap before I got there. But at that moment its eyes looked straight at mine, I knew that there was impending harm to come. My mind was flying somewhere. All I felt was fear and thrill. The rattlesnake I found was brown, about four feet long with a triangular head. The minute I saw it, I was shaking hard and I froze all over. Knowing that rattlesnakes only attacked humans when disturbed, I was reluctant to go near it. But thinking it was my only opportunity to explore and take a good look at a real one, I picked up a stick and went closer to it moving one step at a time. As soon as I was closest to it, it gave a sort of evil look at me as if it was about to bite me whole. Then I gathered all my nerves and began to strum its thick scales then lifted it up slowly. It irked! I felt great and brave. Right that moment, I thought I’d die a terrible death from a venomous snake. Then I struggled to gaze at it for a few minutes. What a beautiful sight! And that’s how I remember it. I returned it back to its place then I started moving away slowly to avoid provoking its untamed nature. When I returned to my â€Å"gang,† I proudly shared to them the wonderful yet terrifying experience with the first snake I have ever encountered. I never told my mom what I did because I knew she’d kill me for doing such a â€Å"stupid† thing as she might have called it. I never had any other close encounters with snakes after that. I actually never petted them long. I gave up my Gopher snakes soon enough after I kept them a few years ago. But being a unique pet lover, it is quite rewarding on my part especially when I hear people praise me for it. Even if only see snakes usually in cages or in the zoos now, I can always remember that one fateful day I met that rattlesnake in the wild. I will always remember how beautiful it was. My experiences with lizards were not as intense as that I’ve had with snakes probably because they are harmless and naà ¯ve. But my daily encounters with lizards were as memorable to me as that of snakes. Actually, it was quite a traumatic beginning for me. I was standing in our front porch one day when I saw this kid (I think he was younger than me at that time) playing with a lizard. It was about 4 inches long and brown in color so I assumed it was a fence lizard. It had a bluish belly though. At first, the kid was feeding it with small insects I could not identify then before I knew it, he was flipping the poor lizard up and down. I was about to approach him when the next thing I saw was he stepped on it and the lizard was squeezed like an orange fruit. There it was lying flat on the street not breathing anymore. It was a terrible event which I cannot erase from my long-term memory until now. From then on, I came to love lizards more and I collected not only fence lizards but alligator and whiptail lizards as well. When I stopped keeping snakes, my lizards remained. At present, I still have my lizards which I long to protect and care for in my own simple ways. To my mind, at least I am making a difference in the lives of these astonishing small creatures which are often neglected and unappreciated by people. It is so sad to note that in some countries which do not have strict animal rights, snakes and reptiles are ruthlessly killed even with just the sight of them, even if they did nothing to harm humans. We should realize that such acts are merely their naturally-occurring defense mechanisms. Some races made them into exotic dishes and sold at high prices. Even in zoos and animal sanctuaries, snakes and reptiles are given negative connotations which affect the impressions of people in general regarding these creatures. The media play a great role in influencing people’s opinions and generalizations about snakes and reptiles. Since time immemorial, I have never seen a film, TV show or any advertisements for that matter depicting snakes in a positive manner. Movies like â€Å"Anaconda,† â€Å"Anacondas,†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Spasm,† â€Å"Venom,† â€Å"Snakes on the Plane,† â€Å"Rattled,† and many more all gave snakes bad images. Oftentimes, snakes are shown to represent evil and have been considered demonic symbols. How can people’s attitude towards snakes and reptiles be changed if what is being shown by entertainment is purely the dark side of these creations? It certainly takes time to alter people’s perceptions on snakes and reptiles. One of the most effective medium to begin with is education. We should be reminded that snakes and reptiles are also part of our wildlife, thus, they should be conserved and protected like any other endangered species. Children should be taught to love all animals through promoting media exposure and including conservation of wildlife in the school curriculum to instill in their minds the need to appreciate even the most dangerous creatures. This is not an easy task pursue since most learning of children are facilitated at home and most parents and guardians teach children to fear snakes and reptiles. This is the reason why massive media campaign should be done to alter our views about snakes and reptiles even at a slow pace. What is of the essence is that there should be efforts and attempts to correct the wrong impressions people have of these despised animals. While it may be true that snakes and reptiles are feared and â€Å"unloved† by most people, for me, they are wonderful creatures. Therefore, it is not true that they are feared and ‘unloved† because there are still people like me who can love them unconditionally. And I choose to remain as such as long as I have the capacity to do so.