Back in the day, I was working a four-month assignment on a large system rollout. It was to manufacture, load, configure, and install 45,000 desktops. I was tech volume manager.

Customer was the Loral division in Gaithersburg, MD. This business unit had been IBM Federal Systems in a previous era. And would later be bought by Lockheed Martin.

On a Saturday afternoon, I took a break from this intensive job and went out to run around the large building. I was running down the ¼-mile-long south side and past a pond. I looked down and there was a three-feet-long copperhead snake coiled to strike about two feet in front and slightly to the right of my path.

Due to the momentum, I couldn’t stop. So I speeded up. The snake struck but passed just behind my right leg. I was very thankful that the snake missed, because I had heard that a copperhead bite can be quite painful.

Other Experiences: Is there anyone who has had unexpected experiences while working an assignment they would like to share on this blog?