Like so many of you, my personal life is based on a semi-balanced routine. I get up, let the dogs out, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to work, get off the job, let the dogs out, make dinner, play with the dogs, go to bed, and then start all over again in the morning. But, when something interrupts that daily balance, life can get a little crazy.
You can only imagine how I felt one morning as I stepped out of our sliding glass door onto the lanai to let the dogs out for their daily deposits when I glanced at something out of the corner of my eye. I glanced down to see a foot-long baby snake about to make its way through the small opening in the door into my house. I barely stifled a scream as I pushed the door shut and then proceeded to throw one of my shoes at the equally startled creature. Unfortunately, the snake did not take kindly to this disturbance and opted to take cover in my husband’s flip-flops that had been left a couple of feet away.
In a panic, I threw my other shoe at my husband’s shoes, causing the snake to veer towards the large storage chest adjacent to the flip-flops.
My two dogs have yet to realize what is happening. Each are still waiting by the back door of the lanai, probably wondering what is keeping mom so long.
Meanwhile, mom is swallowing the panicked cry that has risen into her throat and has begun pushing and pulling the storage box, trying to dislodge the snake from under it. This is when I realize that I am standing barefoot on the lanai, and although this is a small snake, I have no idea what kind of snake this is. In a panic, I run into the house and grab a broom and my rain boots because shoes will not do in “fighting” a snake.
As I hurriedly make my way back to the lanai, I begin to panic, thinking about the snake and what I would do to get it outside. Finally, in my panicked state, I practically throw the storage box across the lanai and, with the broom, launch the snake twelve feet away towards the opposite direction of the dogs, where there is a second doorway to the outside.
At this point, one of the dogs has noticed a possible plaything in his vicinity, and he should come over and investigate. The snake sees a giant predator coming its way and begins to jump and bite at the air. I spring into action and run towards the snake. In my haste to get to the snake, I smack into a spider’s web where there is a small-sized spider. (I am sorry to say, it is no longer in the land of the living, I panicked, swatted, and stepped.) Nevertheless, I managed to somehow get to the snake and spear it to the ground before the snake or dog made any contact with one another.
I was close enough to the door to hold the dog back with my leg as I pulled the broom with the snapping snake toward the door, which I opened with my other hand. The snake saw his escape as he got closer to the opening and slithered out the door. I ensured he was far away from our yard before returning to the “safety” of our lanai.
You can imagine how thrown my day was after this exhilarating experience. I worried for the rest of the day if the snake would wander back onto the lanai. I wondered how it got there in the first place. I asked myself repeatedly if other animals could get in.
As in our daily lives, things in business always pop up, but we must always be mindful and prepared. Having a disaster management plan is a critical and often overlooked piece of material that is essential to any business. A well-designed disaster management plan will assist your organization in handling situations from an active shooter to hurricanes. In addition, members of your organization will understand their roles, such as who handles phone calls, who talks to the press, who files the paperwork, who keeps track of where employees are in the building and who got out of the building, and how to contact people when there is a disaster. A disaster management plan will give you piece of mind for when those little disasters show up at your doorstep.
Sally Houle
