Some musings

After talking with Kyle, Destroyer of Worlds last night, I remembered a time in my past that I haven't shared with you all.

During my time as an industrial sewage inspector in Glenrock, WY, I stumbled upon a curious group of people who owned, and rode, racing pythons. Now these are not the draft snakes you might see in the rail yard pulling boxcars into place, nor are they the feather boas that many men and women use to accessorize.

No, these are racing pythons. What made this group so fascinating is that they actually rode their mounts in the race rather than simply racing the animals like other animal racing leagues such as greyhounds, warthogs, or the wildly popular rattlesnake racing circuit.

Most of the boa jockeys used some sort of slinky like saddle to allow for the slither aspect as well as provide more stability in the corners for the pythons. As an aside, from 1982-1983, snow boots were briefly allowed in competition, but after the horrific tangling coming out of turn 3 in the penultimate race of the season, no foot wear has been allowed except for the traditional bunny slippers.

What reminded me of this volatile time in my life was the way that Kyle, Destroyer of Worlds coughed. He could have been a professional starter (and may very well have been) in the python racing league. Of course, one can't feed a family on just snake meat, so I'm sure he would have had to find something else (say fire fighting and collecting all those smoke damaged cans of SPAM) to supplement receiving the losing boas as payment for his officiating services.

Anyways, if you're ever in Glenrock, WY on a Thursday morning, about 2:14 AM, head for the sewers and enjoy some good old fashioned snake racin'! It'll do ya good!