http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/13/us/florida-largest-python/index.html

If you open this link above you will see an almost 18 feet long and one foot wide Burmese Python captured in the Florida Everglades with over 80 eggs in the oven.

When I saw this tonight after two Margaritas at Palm Beach Grill my mind flashed back to the Fall of 1969 and I had been the Platoon Leader of a light Infantry S&D Platoon as a Staff Sergeant for about two months. I had already witnessed my First Lieutenant Platoon Leader have his head severed in a hot CA by a helicopter blade. A week or so later we walked into an ambush and the point man – three men in front of me had his intestines leap out of his body as he was cut down by VC fire. I’ll never forget pushing his organs back in and wrapping him with field dressings. A valiant but wasted effort.

After a quiet but tense month or so we were engaged in the Central Highlands and everyone was on edge. I was walking fourth man and I stepped over what I thought was a dead log. It moved ever so slowly and I was startled and emptied two magazines of M 16 rounds taped back to back into what turned out to be a snake about this size.

With almost forty rounds of hot lead in its body it continued to crawl into the trees. When we all got up off the ground and the Platoon had a good laugh at Super Sarge (SS) for killing an enemy combatant they all had another good laugh when they saw my totally soaked Camo pants.

I’ve never liked those damn Pythons since.

Uncle Larry