Originally Posted by
tcook052
That's a lot of assumptions. Who says he wasn't looking elsewhere than his feet while strolling the grounds. When I walk I seldom stare at the ground as it causes me to walk into things like poles and buildings, especially in NYC. Besides wildlife has a unique ability to blend in with the scenery and he could easily have mistaken a motionless snake for a branch or piece of wood.
Two is "a lot" in your world? The only "assumptions" I made are that 1) he didn't look where he was walking or 2) he stepped on/kicked the snake on purpose. The rest of the details come from either the published stories, such at the fact the incident occurred at 5 pm, research - there are no venomous snake in the wilds of RI, or a basic knowledge of earth science - 5 pm in early October means daylight in Florida. Aren't you assuming the snake was motionless? Last time I saw a snake on a path, it was moving as fast as it could to get away from the humans.
And it certainly isn't necessary to "stare" at the ground to be aware of what you are putting your feet on; don't you ever look down in NYC to notice things like curbs or obstacles on the ground?