The year was about 1965, the coliseum in Brownwood was relatively new. All kinds of events other than basketball were coming into the facility. One of them that debuted that first year was the Rattlesnake Roundup. The Jaycees put it on and this was the first time it had ever been in the coliseum. The way it’s done now is probably a lot more practical and a lot safer, but back then the snakes were actually kept in the foyer, not on the inside back in the back like they are now. They were in the foyer, kind of back up against the wall and they had plexiglass or something similar all around them. Needless to say, when you walked in the snakes were the first thing that you saw.
Since it was the first year for the event in the coliseum, they had the radio station I worked at, KBWD, doing a remote – practically an all-day remote to publicize the Rattle Snake Roundup. We had big crowds coming in and it was a festive atmosphere. It was a lot of fun. The only thing I objected to was the fact that they were skinning, and whatever else you have to do to a rattlesnake to put the meat in a fryer, close to where I was broadcasting. I was one of the guys who was talking and interviewing people on the air. Hour after hour I was having to look at those horrible creatures and smell that…UGH-type smell. Maybe I should mention that I hate snakes.
So, these folks were selling this fried rattlesnake meat and I think people were a little bit skiddish, and probably are still a little bit skiddish. Everyone should be. Anyway, to make a long story short, they talked me into eating a piece of rattlesnake. Now, it’s not just rattlesnakes that I dislike. I hate them all – poisonous, nonpoisonous, big, little, I hate them all – but like a dummy, I ate this piece of fried rattlesnake. They told me ahead of time to not worry, it’s like eating fried chicken. If it’s like fired chicken, I’d hate to see the chicken! Well, I started getting a little bit queasy after I’d done this. About thirty or forty-five minutes later I ended my shift in the coliseum and I went back to the radio station. Not too long after I got back, I got sick. I mean SICK! I threw up the rattlesnake, whatever I’d had for lunch, breakfast, etc. I barfed that day enough to never want to eat again. And, it didn’t just last that day, it continued the next day, and the next day. I was sicker than a dog for three days.
Today, the only time I venture to the Rattlesnake Roundup is when of my grandkids or great grandkids ask to go and I have to take them. But, anytime I go, I find out if they are frying rattlesnake.
I find out where the cooker is located, and I stay as far away from it as I possibly can. Not only will I never eat rattlesnake again, I do my best to never smell it again.
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].