Every Sunday my sisters and I went to Sunday school at the catholic church in town named after St. John Francis Regis. A choice not our own. Every Sunday school teacher I had would agree that I had a “behavior problem.” I remember in the spring, when the weather was nice the teachers would bring us outside for our lessons and after they had sufficiently shaped our ideals to their view of spirituality and worship, molded our understanding of the meaning of bible teachings to be congruent with their own, they would let us loose to experience the warm spring morning.
The church was perched at the foot of a sloping bank and when the sun would warm the rock walls above the church the garter snakes would come out in droves to soak up the sun’s warmth. I learned that if you stepped on their tail and grabbed them by the back of the head they couldn’t twist around and latch on. Not that a garter snake would inflict any damage but our idea of snakes tells us to avoid their bite at all costs, even the non-venomous varieties. I also learned that girls have a particularly strong fear of garter snakes despite the snakes benign nature.
Looking back it seems like a strong metaphor for my life: the boy overcoming his socially impregnated fear of snakes and using the same fear to send girls fleeing through the church yard. I was nearly expelled from Sunday school for it. Banned from the teachings of the catholic church …yeah, that’s about right
I tame the snakes
For heaven sakes
Where sinners now abide
To dim the part
Of children’s souls
Where sanctity would hide
To stoop and claw
And plead with God
…quietly, they lied
I tame the snakes
For heaven sakes
Where sinners do abound
To dim the part
Of children’s souls
Where sanctity is found
To stoop and claw
And plead with God
…another sinner crowned
-Adam J Steele
