Reptile Jason

So, for a while we’ve wanted to get rid of our broken 55” TV that has been taking up space in our garage. We finally put it on Craigslist for free and have not stopped getting inquiries since yesterday. However, we responded to our very first, almost immediate inquiry, whom we’ll call “Reptile Jason.” Little did we know what an unusual experience getting rid of our TV would be.

Let’s start with the initial phone call, which Russ made. Russ started out by letting Jason know that the TV was still available and he could pick it up at any time. Jason, definitely very interested, first felt compelled to make sure Russ knew what he was going to be doing with the TV before he signed off on Jason’s pick-up. Russ wondered what else you could possibly do with a TV other than fix it and watch it, but Jason, the honest and interesting man he is, explained that he fixes up old TV’s and makes them into homes for reptiles, which he was sure Russ would have a problem with. Wow. How green. Russ explained that we’ve never heard of such a thing, but to Jason’s delight, we don’t have any problems with it – many questions – but no problems.

The conversation continued. He then went on to tell Russ (for quite a while) that he donated these homes (minus the reptiles) to the Reptile Foundation where they auctioned them off for a small profit. He was very committed to the Reptile Foundation. He was very committed to these TVs. Just think of how many questions this conversation raises in your mind…

1. Who is buying these reptile homes made of old TVs? Especially huge 55” TVs?
2. How much do they cost?
3. Who would have a problem with Reptile Jason picking up their old broken TV for this purpose? Has he had run-ins?
4. Why does Reptile Jason do this?
5. Who thinks these look good? Maybe an old, classic, vintage looking TV might be all right, but even that’s a stretch.
6. Does the Reptile Foundation actually want these “homes?”
7. How long has Reptile Jason been doing this?
8. Would Reptile Jason send us a picture of our TV made into a home? Who will the lucky recipient be?

We were determined to get some answers when he came to pick it up.

Russ got a call about 7:15. “Hey Boss, I’m about a mile away.” Great. Game on.

He pulled up in his Dodge Ram (after driving 45 minutes) and looked exactly like what we had thought. He was about 6 feet tall with sandy brown hair and glasses, and was wearing high tops, tighter early 90’s jeans and a black leather jacket with laces hanging down. He ran the show. He definitely knew the best way to get the TV in the truck with only the two of them lifting it (Noa and I were only watching). The whole time they were working on it, he was telling us that he used to be a snake owner until one grew to 6’4” and started to run the place. Now he just prefers to make the cages. Evidently our 55” TV was for a smaller snake. We’re not sure what you would need for a larger snake. He offered so much information without us even asking, and said that if we wanted to see a picture of our TV home, he would have it up on Craigslist under “Snake Cages” or “Living Cages.” Evidently, he’s trying to raise awareness. He mentioned a “company” that he was working with, but didn’t expound. We weren’t sure what this was all about.

It all took about 3 minutes, and he was off; a true pro. Upon leaving we asked him if he wanted the remote for anything and with a smirk he said, “Sure. I have people asking me for things like this all the time. It will probably never be used as a remote again though.” Reptile Jason…up to more tricks…