Breaking news! And the reporting staff here at Song and a Story is on the, er.... story!
Apparently, Uncle Keith got into a bit of a rhubarb with a copperhead snake while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Friday. Details were sketchy but we were able to ascertain that there was some question of right of way and local easement rights in the park domain that ended in what some local residents are now calling the Pickle in the Park.
Eyewitness accounts have led to this artist rendition by great niece Alex Ava:
As you can see, there was some question as to who the instigator was. One local snake commented that, "Uncle Keith was the aggressor! He was the one that commenced to the initial biting attack!"
A Park Ranger, commenting anonymously, stated that "It was a match of wits. Sadly, Uncle Keith had none."
At any rate, this was the result of the Pickle in the Park:
As to the current whereabouts of the copperhead, our local reporter Alex Ava was able to verify that the snake had absconded to the western side of Chicago where he was seen yesterday at a street festival on the west side drinking a Coors Light:
The remarkable part of this incredible story is that hard core troubadour Steve Earle foresaw the events that led to the Pickle in the Park back in 1988 and wrote a song about it which he then performed on the Letterman show:
For those of you planning on visiting the Smokies this year, perhaps some precaution is in order. You don't want your own Park Pickle. Uncle Keith was lucky. It could have been worse. Snakebites are no joke.