Yes, Steve Irwin could have kicked my ass

The death of Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" reminded me of the minute I realized that Steve would kick my ass in a fight.

Our house is located in the middle of a forest. I have a dog (a 135 lbs Labrador) that sleeps in our garage. We leave the door open during the warmer days so he can come and go as he pleases. One night I woke up and heard him barking like mad. Not the usual 'I hear something but I'm to lazy to get up so I'll bark' bark but the real 'get your butt down here' bark.

I get up, after my wife makes me, and go down stairs to see what was wrong. As I opened the door the dogs hair was standing up on end and he was looking at a rattle snake curled up, in the strike position, in the middle of our garage.

My first thought was of The Crocodile Hunter and how he just picks these snakes up with his bare hands. Well I'm not that stupid so I figured I'd get a broom and push him away. So I grabbed a broom and started towards the snake. Well it just started coming at me. That's when it hit me. I'm standing in my boxer shorts with no shoes on and no where to run. I back up and put the broom down, I may be a coward but I'm no fool.

I couldn't shoot the thing because of the concrete floor and a shovel wasn't any better than a broom at this point. My wife's car was parked in the garage so I got the keys and ran over the snake, three times. What a brave man I was. Then I picked it up with the shovel and threw it away. I never did touch it, dead or alive. That's when I knew, if I ever got into a fight with The Crocodile Hunter I wouldn't stand a chance.

We'll miss you Steve Irwin.