hen I was 9/10 I was in Texas with my dad and his cousin and we were diggin up fossils in his (my dad's cousin's) creek, which had dried up because of a heat wave. I ended up a good distance away from them exploring on my own and came across a bit of water that hadnt dried up and saw something in it... and then that something saw me. Next thing I know I have a 3~4' copper head chasing me down. I back away from it while making as little motion as possible (except my feet) and call to the adults. My dad's cousin comes over, and chops it's head off.

After that I was hooked, wanted to know everything about them, wanted to be around them, and just loved them. ~_~ Same thing happened with Canadian Geese about 3 years later, but I didnt fall for them as much. I guess I'm prone to Stockholm's Syndrome