D'vorahDavida
Yetzirah

Peggy Sue & The Entomologist
Tue Jul 22 2003

This morning when I went for my walk, a large spider ran across the bike path in front of me. Scared the wits out of me. The thing was way too big for my squeamish self to handle. I resisted the impulse to let out a screech. But I did do a little triple step, shuffle glide, half hop, dance around the spot he had just scurried over. I don't know about you, but I don't like to step on spider tracks. It gives me the willies. Counting his legs, he was about the size of a silver dollar. It was the biggest spider I have ever seen in person, except for Peggy Sue.

Peggy Sue was a tarantula that my brother used to have. Needless to say, I never warmed up to Peggy Sue. Even though she was fuzzy, she didn't seem very warm to me. My brother used to keep her discarded exoskeletons in a box. He showed one of them to me once. And even though I knew it was just a shell, I could barely stand to look at it. But it made me think that maybe Peggy Sue scared herself so badly that she crawled out of her own skin. Maybe she got a good look at herself in the mirror one day.

Every now and then on television, I see a crazed entomologist with some huge spider crawling all over his body trying to convince us that spiders are really wonderful creatures, and the problem with all of us is that we just don't understand them. The only thing I can think is that they write that guy a check in an amount so large that he finally agrees to stand there with that spider crawling on him. My guess is, as soon as the camera is turned off he starts screaming and running around the room. And heaven help the spider, for all we know he throws it on the floor and stomps on it. (As seems proper to me.)

Honestly, I do not know why God created spiders, especially the poisonous ones. Not long ago I got a spider bite while I was sleeping. The resulting red area, ended up being a saucer sized itchy place on my side. Now every night before I go to sleep, I throw back the covers and check for spiders. It seems particularly evil of them to bite us when we're asleep, don’t you think?

But alas, even though I am terrified of them, I cannot rid the world of spiders. Well, maybe just the poisonous ones, that would be a start. I wonder if I could get that highly paid entomologist to help me? But I'll bet he’s still running around screeching and waving his arms over his head. And I don't blame him.

I hope the check didn't bounce.


5 Comments
  • From:
    Pragmatist (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jul 22 2003
    A wolf spider has taken up residence in my bedrooom. I don't know exactly where she is, but the last time I saw her, she was heading for the corner next to my closet.

    Spiders don't really bother me, except I have to clean the webs off the walls and ceilings from time to time. What really gets me is *ugh* snakes. I'll take a spider in my bedroom over a snake in my garden any day!

    Hmmm, come to think of it, though, I think I'll make an exception to black widows anywhere.

    Shalom
  • From:
    Sezrah (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jul 22 2003
    thank goodness there are no snakes or hugehuge fuzzywuzzy spiders here in nz, and i think only one kind of poisonous spider that is quite small and unassuming. i've never had to live around creepy-crawlies like those and plan on keeping it that way

    sez
  • From:
    RealmOfRachel (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jul 22 2003
    Ewww spiders! Great entry even if it does make me feel as though I have things crawling all over me!
  • From:
    Bookworm (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jul 22 2003
    Lol, oh this one made me laugh. I can't say that spiders creep me out, though. I was always the one who had to rescue my friends from those creepy-crawlies. ;-)
  • From:
    MagicWhiskey (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jul 22 2003
    I forget where I read that they only bite when threatened. Maybe you rolled over and landed on the spider?