In The Most Amazing Coincidence Of This Century...

This afternoon I came home from work and washed down all of Charlie's reptile stuff -- the terrarium, lights, food & water bowls and accessories, because a girl from New Hampshire was driving down to buy it from us for $60, in response to the craigslist ad I had posted earlier in the week. 

While I waited upstairs for her to arrive, Mike went down to the basement to clean out some more of the unfinished closets down there. I told him I'd help him as soon as the girl came to get the stuff. 

Mike had only been down in the basement for a couple minutes when he called to me, "Come down here, I found something I really think you should see!"

He met me halfway up the stairs holding a paint can on top of which was perched -- you guessed it, Curious Checkers, Charlie's long lost snake! Checkers, who by this point had disappeared in the wall a full six months ago, was not only alive but seemed remarkably none the worse for wear. 

Charlie, who had gotten up and followed me to see what the fuss was about, was ecstatic, yelling "Curious Checkers, I knew you'd come back to me!!" Which meant that letting the snake go in the woods wasn't a viable option. 

We were literally still standing in the living room dumbfounded when the doorbell rang -- the girl coming to buy all our snake stuff!! She fortunately didn't need everything, since she was getting a lizard & we had had a lizard and a snake so had a lot of extra stuff. So after she left Mike took the $60 to PetCo and bought a new terrarium for Checkers , and between that and the stuff we still had we made him a new home. 

Charlie is thrilled. ("I can't believe I have TWO pets!!") and mom and dad are less so, thinking of the two day drive to Charlotte with a ferret AND a snake?? OMG. 

Here he is: