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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Ax01's Avatar
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    Burmese Python Exhibit in North Carolina Museum: July 7 - Dec 2, 2018

    the exhibit is titled An Unlikely Refugee: The Story About A Python Named George. it's about a Burmese Python that was brought over to the States during the Vietnam War by a US military officer. the python was named George and was a star attraction at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for a few decades. i think it's really cool that the exhibit weaves in education about pythons and history of the conflict in SE Asia.



    here's the story: http://www.fayobserver.com/news/2018...teville-museum
    Story of ‘George’ the python comes to Fayetteville museumGeorge was the best-known snake in all of North Carolina.

    For 25 years, the Burmese python — which would eventually grow to 16 feet — was a star attraction at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

    But she — yes, George was a girl — was very nearly dinner when then-Master Sgt. Dewey Simpson first became acquainted with her.

    It’s a story Simpson, a retired command sergeant major who served with Special Forces at Fort Bragg, has told many times.

    And starting this Saturday, it’s a story that will have a prominent place in the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.

    A special exhibit entitled “An Unlikely Refugee: The story of a python named George” will open at the museum on Arsenal Avenue on Saturday, July 7.

    The traveling exhibit is on loan from George’s former home at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and is inspired, in part, by a recent graphic novel by the same name written by Morrow Dowdle and illustrated by her husband, Max Dowdle.

    “An Unlikely Refugee” uses images from that novel as well as informational panels about George and Burmese pythons to tell the story about how a snake made its way from Vietnam to Fort Bragg and finally to Raleigh, where she was visited by countless school children and other museum-goers for more than two decades.
    Simpson, now 88-years-old and living in Holden Beach, will be unable to attend a special reception for the exhibit that will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday due to his health, his wife said.

    But in 2004, the retired command sergeant major, also known as “Cliff,” shared the story of George and how he came to North Carolina.

    Simpson and his Special Forces team were deep in South Vietnam, near the Cambodian border, he said, when local guerilla fighters came across the snake during a patrol in the Mekong River Delta.

    The locals wanted the snake as dinner, he recalled. But Simpson and his men saved the snake to become part mascot and part rat-catcher at their camp.

    The soldiers then built the snake a cage to keep him safe and then settled on the name “George.”

    “Why?” Simpson recalled asking another soldier in 1963.

    “Because, man, that’s what his name is,” came the reply.

    “There was no arguing with that,” Simpson told the Observer. “And it fit him real well.”

    From then on, George had a pampered life, living off of jungle rats and being escorted around the camp for his own protection.

    But there was still danger. When the base was attacked just before Thanksgiving of that year, George was nicked by shrapnel, leaving a scar that remained for the rest of his life.

    “I tell people he was the only snake with a Purple Heart,” Simpson said, referring to the combat decoration given to U.S. troops wounded in battle.

    When Simpson came home to Fort Bragg in 1964, he brought George with him to use as a training aid.

    “He was one of the first refugees from the Vietnam War,” Simpson noted.

    But George’s permanent home was not to be at what would become the nation’s largest military installation.

    With winters too harsh and no room in the barracks, George instead found a home in Raleigh with the Museum of Natural Sciences. She would be a resident of the museum from 1964 until her death in 1989. It was around that time that officials confirmed that George was a “she” and not a “he.”

    According to officials, many North Carolinians can recall a school field trip to the museum and an up-close view of George.

    And now, they can relive those memories through the exhibit in Fayetteville, which will be on display through Dec. 2.

    The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. each Sunday.
    here's info on the museum if u are in the area or wanna plan a visit:
    https://museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.go...useum-exhibits
    https://www.visitfayettevillenc.com/...-george/14341/
    RIP Mamba
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  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Ax01 For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (07-18-2018),Bogertophis (07-18-2018),C.Marie (07-18-2018),tttaylorrr (07-19-2018)

  3. #2
    BPnet Senior Member tttaylorrr's Avatar
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    is there anywhere i can purchase a copy?? google is coming up empty. ): it sounds wonderful, and the art looks awesome!
    4.4 ball python
    1.0 Albino 0.1 Coral Glow 0.1 Super Cinnamon paradox 1.0 Piebald 0.1 Pastel Enchi Leopard het Piebald 1.0 Coral Glow het Piebald

    1.0 corn snake
    1.0 Hypo

    1.0 crested gecko
    0.1 ????

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    0.1 Maine Coon mix

    0.1 human ✌︎

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    ~ Ball Pythons - Rosy Boas - - Western Hognose Snakes - Mexican Black Kingsnakes - Corn Snakes ~

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  6. #4
    BPnet Senior Member tttaylorrr's Avatar
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    Re: Burmese Python Exhibit in North Carolina Museum: July 7 - Dec 2, 2018

    Quote Originally Posted by tttaylorrr View Post
    is there anywhere i can purchase a copy?? google is coming up empty. ): it sounds wonderful, and the art looks awesome!
    Quote Originally Posted by the_rotten1 View Post
    ive purchased a copy. i love graphic novels and this sounds absolutely amazing. i can't wait to get it!!!
    4.4 ball python
    1.0 Albino 0.1 Coral Glow 0.1 Super Cinnamon paradox 1.0 Piebald 0.1 Pastel Enchi Leopard het Piebald 1.0 Coral Glow het Piebald

    1.0 corn snake
    1.0 Hypo

    1.0 crested gecko
    0.1 ????

    0.1 cat
    0.1 Maine Coon mix

    0.1 human ✌︎

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