Spiders and Snakes (rant)

I was driving today and saw a black snake crossing the road. He was just beginning to ribbon his way across the asphalt. I went out of my way to miss him. I don't like to kill anything if I can help it. He drew back when I passed and started back to the side of the road. When I looked in my rear view mirror the truck behind me went out of his way to kill the snake. It made me sick and mad and reinforced, why for the most part I don't like people. As a whole we are petty, selfish, arrogant,and lets face it just plain mean hearted. That doesn't mean I don't like anyone. I like people for their individual redeeming qualities.

When I was about 9 living in a suburban neighborhood in Tallahassee we had a fenced yard with lovley forsythia bushes all around the fence in the back. They were old and draped over making great tunnels and rooms in and among them. I would spend hours making forts and playing in these bushes usually alone. One such day I had spent the day out there until my dad came to get me for supper. As I was crawling out he suddenly got an urgent demanding tone to his voice. "Come out Now" Which of course scared me. When I got out he showed me the snake that had been draped above my head almost touching me probably for hours. He made me go into the house and he and a neighbor shot the snake. He showed me the snake it was a huge cotton mouth. I cried for the snake . The next day they cut all of the bushes. I cried for the bushes. That snake didn't see me as a threat and I was too big to eat so he just left me alone. My dad did what he thought he had to do to protect me so I don't blame him. He did after that teach me to identify snakes and know which ones to stay away from.

I makes me mad and sad when people kill something just because they can. I am a live and let live kind of girl. I don't like spiders they give me the "heebie geebies"! I will usually move a spider outside or sweep him out the door if I can. I am not gonna squish it just because its a spider. Now the ones that are big enough to drive a VW I am not gonna touch, Squish ,sweep, or otherwise! They seem to like to committ suicide in our pool and they are huge brown,black hairy things.

I guess the point of this rant is : An animal will kill for food or to protect its young. Usually if it can leave it will. Why kill it just because you can?