This coming Monday would be my Dad’s 98th birthday. His influence in my life, our family, and our community continues to be felt in many positive ways as his legacy lives on. I was so privileged to be the son of this incredible man.
As most readers remember, Dad was a taxidermist and over the years mounted countless deer, bear, squirrels, foxes, bobcats, and many other wildlife species that hunters brought in. His mounts continue to grace the walls of many valley homes today.
Life in a taxidermy shop was never boring. Although local game species were the staples, we never knew what would come through the door as we saw everything from bison to bighorns and sable antelope to skilpots.
From time to time, customers would also bring Dad snakes to either mount or tan the skins. These were most commonly rattlesnakes which he referred to as snakes with play toys or his favorite: snattlerakes. Most of these critters had been killed many times over with bludgeoned heads and mangled bodies because everyone knows the only good snake is…
One day a customer dropped off one of these creatures. The absence of its head clearly demonstrated its mortality and Dad laid it on his skinning table for attention the next day. When he returned from a Revival Service later that night to tend to some soaking deer hides, the snake was gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
Dad’s attentiveness immediately skyrocketed as he began to look for the missing reptile. It was nowhere in sight. Although Dad knew exactly where everything was in his shop, his organizational style was not what you could call immaculate. This created additional challenges as there were a multitude of locations this animal could be.
He and my brother carefully searched for the elusive lifeless serpent. As they delicately moved various items, they finally located it below. When they did, the snake was coiled and posed to strike with its silent rattles erect. The absence of fangs, poison, and even its head did not hinder the body of this creature from doing what it normally did. After calming their rattled nerves, Dad and Dale placed the snake in the freezer to prevent future surprises.
The unusual ability of reptile muscles to continue to expand and contract even after the animal has been killed has spawned many legends about snakes and turtles, most of which have been creatively embellished. Apparently this particular snake still had some motion left in him and had squirmed off the table and slithered under cover.
This unique episode in the life of a taxidermist holds some spiritual lessons for us as well. When Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, He crushed the head of that old serpent, Satan. Humankind’s enemy has been soundly and roundly defeated once and for all just as God prophesied to Adam.
Unfortunately, the Devil’s muscles continue to flex. Even though he has been conquered, he continues to scare and intimidate unsuspecting humans. He can be quite frightening indeed, but as Christians, we must remember he no longer packs the poison of death as we learn from 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 which asks, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Although he loves to menace and squirm, we must recall that the Devil is a defeated foe and one day even his residual movements will be stilled when God destroys him forever. Let us remember that whenever he rears his headless neck, he can neither harm nor destroy without God’s permission. As I observe Dad’s birthday on Monday, may his snake story remind us all of a great spiritual truth.
Blessings, George