I was holding my ball python and watching TV when I noticed the Navy Jack hanging on the wall. My ball python may be the most gentle animal that I've ever met, and I was struck by the ironic humor of her against such an aggressive, martial background. I wanted to take a picture of her with the flag in the background, and I took several shots. On this one, she yawned as I snapped the shot. The result was a funny image.
For anyone who cares, the Navy Jack shown here was one of the first flags flown by a US Navy warship in the American Revolution. Even today, the Navy has one ship in the fleet that flies this flag in addition to the Stars and Stripes as a salute to those first ships that fought for independence. The other famous "Don't Tread On Me" flag was the Gadsden Flag which is bright yellow with a coiled rattlesnake in the center. The Gadsden Flag was carried by other ships in the Navy during the American Revolution. The first time that we landed Marines was to take a British post in the Bahamas, and the Gadsden Flag was carried by those Marines. There's a third rattlesnake flag with a blue drawing over a white background, and I believe that flag was the battle flag of a militia unit in Northern Virginia.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
