M y earliest boating memory was when I was 5 and had gone canoeing with
my parents to a local lake. We had put the bow of the boat on shore in
some weeds and my dad was on shore. A Water Moccasin (poisonous and
known to be aggressive) suddenly reared out of the water and actually
charged the canoe and tried to climb in. My mother quickly gave the
snake an "attitude adjustment" with the canoe paddle. Now, years later
we all (9 kids) still joke with her about how she clobbered that snake.
She normally had a remarkably blase attitude toward poison snakes.
When we camped at a place called White Oak Landing (believe it or not
on the River Styx in a place called Tates Hell Swamp), we were hesitant
to swim with the water moccasins swimming around but she told us not to
be wimps as they couldnt bite under water. When the family dog got bit
on the face and swelled up like a balloon and died within an hour after
swimming, she didnt change her attitude. Somehow, we all made it to
adulthood.