Coal Miner's Daughter
This is one of my favorite passage's from Loretta Lynn's Coal Miner's Daughter, her account of growing up in Butcher Holler, KY. Enjoy!
"But Daddy had his own pet-a black snake that used to crawl up from the cracks in the floor. Every time we had dinner, Daddy would feed it. When Jay Lee was born, that black snake crawled right into the crib and curled up with Jay Lee. Daddy said that black snakes are harmless, which they are, but when he went to the mines, Mommy killed it with an ax because she just couldn’t stand the idea of a snake being in bed with Jay Lee. Daddy was mighty mad ‘cause he missed his black snake."