Snakes Alive!

At one time during my childhood we lived on a small farm that had a pasture, a barn, a riding ring, and an old smokehouse.  My brother and I were constantly told not to play in the smokehouse because snakes lived in it and we would surely be bitten.  Luckily for us, we thought ourselves much smarter than Mom and Dad.  Being the rambunctious children that we were, we found ourselves in the smokehouse on more than occasion.  On one particular day, we were playing in the forbidden palace when we heard a noise.  The hissing started quietly at first, almost like it was at a distance, then it grew very loud, very quickly.  Suddenly the noise was all around us encompassing every nook, every cranny, and bouncing off the decades old brick wall.  I instantly knew how Indiana Jones felt and why he felt that way.  We burst out of the smokehouse as fast as our legs could carry us.  But the sound only got louder and seemed to follow us.  Finally I stopped and looked around for the sound.  It came from all over, but it seemed to originate from above.  I looked up, half expecting the trees to be covered in snakes that were ready to pounce on us.  Instead of certain death, I saw a deflating hot air balloon making an emergency landing in the pasture.  The pilot was Mr. Bill, a local weather man and cartoon host for WLOS.  He talked to all of us and even autographed a few pictures for the family and neighbors.