The beautiful Juli and Nako
I once lived in an apartment with 3 other women, all of us under 5’4” which we considered important. These women are still my lifelong friends although only two of us live near one another. Still, we are all wrapped up in one another’s history.
These were great times. We had a lot of dinner parties and hung out with one another talking about everything you can imagine. We tried new things together, gave advice about new, fading and serious boyfriends whether it was wanted or not, listened to our life stories so far and were supportive and loyal to one another. We laughed a lot, but we cried a lot too.
Juli had a snake. Nako was a boa constrictor and at that point I believe he was about 6 feet long.
It’s hard to feel anything for a snake but Juli really loved him and he loved her, I guess. Hard to tell. Nako had run of the apartment but preferred the bathroom where he lay coiled around a piece of driftwood on the counter. There was a heater vent close by which he was particularly fond of, being cold blooded an all.
He didn’t move much but he would stick out his tongue to check you out when you washed your hands. Mostly, everyone but Juli ignored him and we grew so used to him we would forget he was in the apartment.
The worst part about Nako was feeding him. Juli would get mice from the psychology department. On feeding day, she stuck a sign on the bathroom door warning us that Nako and a mouse were in the bathtub. It was deeply disturbing to me to see Nako with a lump in his sleek form. And a pile of snake dung rivals the size of any cowpie I’ve ever seen.
Yeah, and no one used the tub even after Juli bleached it down after a feeding.
Enter the day my Mom came to visit. Things were going well and we were headed out to lunch. Mom ducked into the bathroom before we left. Suddenly there was an ear-piercing scream and she came tearing out of the bathroom, a shade of pale that was seriously alarming. “There’s a god damn snake in the bathroom,” she panted as she clutched her chest. “It’s at least 10 feet long. Call the landlord!”
I felt bad.
I’d completely forgotten about Nako. Once I got Mom calmed down, I explained all about him, reassuring her that he wouldn’t go after anything he couldn’t kill and eat.
This explanation was not as calming as I’d hoped.
She proclaimed all of us crazy and never again used the bathroom in our apartment. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Nako had the run of the apartment, that he’d tried to join me in bed one night when it was really cold and I’d had to haul him into the bathroom. No telling what she would have done.
Years later, Nako got big enough that Juli felt he needed a less residential home. Plus, she was moving to Colorado and wasn’t sure of housing. Snakes take a lot of care in captivity. She eventually donated him to Purdue where he lived to a ripe old age and an impressive length.
Have you signed up for the weekly story sent directly to your inbox? You can do that if you Click to sign up Wondering what I do as a coach? Want to schedule a free groundwork session? Click here to check out my offerings
