Europe 2014 - Lucerne Hike, Lake House / Salty and the Bridge Club

This is one of those zoomed-in shots - the house next to the lake was just too cool not to capture, though a good distance away.
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The second boa constrictor I owned was named Salty, and he had an appetite for teddy bear hamsters.  Yes, the cute kind, which were plumper and had more protein.  As a matter of routine I rode my bike on Saturdays to purchase Salty's weekly meal at the Kresge's department store on the McArthur Circle there in Orange.

Also on Saturdays - once per month - Mom's bridge club played in a rotation at the various members' houses.  Whenever the meeting was at our house, we kids were under strict orders to stay out of the living room to avoid disturbing them.  One of those Saturdays, however, it occurred to me that it might be fun for the ladies to watch Salty eat.  After all, why let something so interesting go to waste?

This was exciting enough to break a rule, so I went into the living room and headed straight for Mom, offering that some of her friends might be interested in seeing the spectacle.  Some expressed a mild interest, so Mom agreed and announced to the entire group that they would take a break from play in order to watch.  I set things up in an empty cedar chest we had in an adjacent room, where we kept Salty's cage.

Four or five of the ladies gathered around the cedar chest while the hamster was inside exploring its new environment.  I went to Salty's cage and brought him over, assuring the ladies that they were in for a treat, as they were about to see nature in action.  After a moment to allow them to get a good look at Salty, I placed him in the cedar chest with the hamster.

As soon as he caught the scent with a flick of his tongue, Salty went immediately into stalking mode.  Bit by bit he approached the hamster, who had taken to hiding as best as he could in a corner of the chest.  Then the moment came and he struck, gripping it in his coils.

All was well and everyone was watching with rapt attention - that is, until, in the throes of its desperate kicking and gulping for air, the little guy let out a squeak.  Too much for one of mom's blue-haired friends, who fell flat in a dead faint!  Completely lost consciousness, eyes rolling back and everything.  And were it not for the fact that she was surrounded by others who broke her fall she likely would have cracked her head on the hard linoleum floor.

Suddenly everyone's focus shifted from the wonders of the natural world to reviving the poor lady, splayed out on the floor in a prone position.  I discreetly closed the cedar chest lid, allowing Salty finished his meal in peace and darkness, and skeddadled to safety in my room...