According to pastor and author John Ortberg, a fictitious manual for Peace Corp volunteers headed for South America offers advice on how to handle a chance encounter with an anaconda (a large type of boa constrictor). This is the list of instructions under the heading "What to Do If Attacked by an Anaconda":
- 1. If you're attacked by an anaconda, do not run; the snake is faster than you are.
- 2. Lie flat on the ground.
- 3. Put your arms tight at your sides and your legs tight against one another.
- 4. The snake will begin to climb over your body.
- 5. Do not panic.
- 6. The snake will begin to swallow you from the feet end.
- 7. Step 6 will take a long time.
- 8. After awhile, slowly and with as little movement as possible, reach down, take your knife, and very gently slide it into the snake's mouth. Then suddenly sever the snake's head.
- 9. Be sure your knife is sharp.
- 10. Be sure you have your knife.
John Ortberg quotes these humorous instructions and then makes a serious point: "You never really know what curves life will throw at you, what's lurking around the corner … But when you are called, and you will be called, you need to know what to do. If you wait until a crisis hits, because it will hit, you have waited too long. You need to be prepared first."
