Snake Hunting Near Mulholland Drive

Jimmy Saget said he could catch a snake with his bare hands.

Jimmy Saget was a tough kid. He was an older boy who broke into cars and smoked hand-rolled cigarettes. Rumor was he caught a rattlesnake with his bare hands and kissed it on the back of the head. No one witnessed the event but it took on legendary status in our neighborhood. In the summer of 1973 when I was ten, Jimmy said he’d repeat the feat for a mere twenty dollars a person. Word spread as if Evel Knievel were coming to town.

Me and my friends gathered our allowances and met Jimmy on the dirt fire road beneath Mulholland Drive. He arrived on the motorized scooter his parents gave him for his bar mitzvah. He wore a blue bandana, black Chuck Taylors, dirty jeans and a t-shirt.

“Listen up, punks,” he said. “Before we go anywhere, I need to see your money.” We gave him our crumpled bills. Todd Shapiro handed over a bunch of quarters. “No coins, creep. Only cold hard cash.” Shapiro would miss the show.

“Whatever happens,” Jimmy said, “I don’t want word getting out to parents, teachers or cops. You say anything, I’ll kick your ass. Understand?”

“Yes,” we all grunted.

Jimmy led us up a thin trail filled with weeds and sharp thistles. We entered a thick forest of oak and pine trees then crossed a wet and stinky stream fed by a sewer pipe. We rounded a corner and came upon the rusted…