Today's award goes to a herpetophobic couple in Houston, TX.
A small lizard has been safely relocated after a concerned Houston-area residency called Texas wildlife officials about an alligator above their door.
The nearby residents informed Kroboth that their reptile-squeamish neighbors had "freaked out" about a garden snake the previous week.
There's more at the link.
I've heard of herpetophobia, but this is ridiculous!
Peter
City people, no more needs to be said.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder how folks like this manage to go outside. Now I have my answer - They call the police when they glimpse something that freaks them out.
ReplyDeleteNow that's a cute baby alligator, if I may say so myself.
ReplyDeleteI used to entertain the kids when they were small by catching garden snakes, and then holding them like that and presenting my finger to be harmlessly bitten. They inevitably had a more powerful "chomp" than expected, but the kids learned to respect, but not fear, the nice reptiles.
If these people are indeed genuinely phobic, then I sympathize with them. OTOH, there is a vast gulf between full blow phobia and simply being a nitwit.
ReplyDeleteAs kids we would stick our earlobes in their mouths to make lizard earings.
ReplyDeleteWhich makes me think of a Robert Heinlein quote:
ReplyDelete"This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humouring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply."
Obviously, the lizard self-identified as a gator.
Well, they are nasty tempered little guys. Alligator lizards will bite you for all they're worth, and even attack if you provoke them. I recall one night when my beloved kitty cat brought one into the bedroom, and I found it under my pillow as I was getting into bed. I did not acquit myself well, and it didn't turn out good for the lizard either. I have the raw courage to admit this: They give me the damn willies.
ReplyDeleteJWM
+1 C. S. P. Schofield
ReplyDelete+1 Javahead "Obviously, the lizard self-identified as a gator."