The Snake

One sunny afternoon Dennis and I were outside in my parent's backyard. Alongside the pool, where I was sitting, I saw a small snake all coiled up. Of course my first reaction was to scream-- I was and still am terrified of snakes. Although this particular one was small (maybe the size of a pencil) it didn't matter. Dennis of course, came right over to inspect the wildlife. Now we all know that Dennis was never scared of anything. I can hear him just like it was yesterday, "What are you afraid of? It's just a little snake!" He didn't hesitate to crouch right down and grab hold of the snake before it managed to slither off.
The next thing I heard was Dennis scream. Then I saw a flailing arm. The small and "harmless" snake had now attached itself to the fleshy part of Dennis' hand between the thumb and pointer finger.
It seemed like eons but in all actuality the snake didn't bite for too long. He shook it off fairly quickly, it landed on the ground, and then disappeared into a small hole under the pool.
For many summers after that day I always looked out for snakes while sunning myself outside, and always smiled thinking of how Dennis laughed about it afterwards and even reenacted the whole scene over and over.
And you know something? He was and always will be the toughest guy I know. Even if he was afraid of a little snake.

Me and my brother-- my hero.