In Africa, carpooling takes on a new meaning

These days, carpooling may be the fashionable and thrifty thing to do, but when in South Africa, folks may wish to give extra consideration to exactly who it is that wants a free ride. A South African couple received a startling surprise while driving this past Wednesday, when they discovered that a Mozambique spitting cobra had come along for an uninvited joyride.

The incident apparently happened after the couple had visited Africa's famed Kruger National Park. AVUSA website, The Times, relayed the story from the African newspaper, Beeld. According to the report, at some point in the couple's 100 mile road trip, the driver, Gordon Parratt, felt something tickling his leg. He made multiple attempts to brush away what he thought was a bug. However, upon closer examination, he discovered that a cobra had taken a fancy to his leg.

The Times quotes Parratt as stating: "Fortunately I'm not the panicky type. My wife immediately put her feet up on the dashboard."

This story has a happy ending, because in the end, a snake expert was able to safely extract the freeloading critter. However, we should each take a lesson here in regard to knowing exactly who, or what, might be riding along on our personal journeys. Additionally, we might take special note of how the couple's cool composure dampened what could have been a quickly occurring tragedy. There is definitely something to be said about not simply surrendering ourselves to knee-jerk reactions.