May 1st, 2009
We have these terrible little yellow spiders in our apartment. They have the most incredible camouflage I’ve ever seen in an animal (including the Australian owls that look like branches – I can’t find a picture that really does them justice, but we saw tawny frogmouths that we could not distinguish from their perch until they moved!). These spiders absolutely disappear when they’re on the carpet and still. I have literally sat on the floor watching one run across the tile floor, and when it hits the rug, it’s gone. I bent down very low, searching, and nothing – until suddenly it started running again.
So I hate these little bastards. They freak me out. Disappearing spider? Yeah… scary.
Last night one of them tried to ambush me. I’d just gotten home from our friends’ place (while there we watched The Hockey and speculated whether Canadians need some equivalent to the hand-over-heart gesture that Americans do when they sing their anthem – Puck suggested we try this. Oh Canada!) and was checking in on the internet. I worry about you when I’m gone. Will anyone take you for a walk, or a little scratch under the chin? So I am sitting at my table minding my own business when one of the terrible yellow spiders dashes across the table at my mousing hand.
Aside: I take this as evidence of the malevolent nature of spiders. Of all the things to attack, it picks my mousing hand, the hand without which I would utterly unable to internet. I know because sometimes I try mousing with my left and I am lousy at it.
Return: So I uttered a womanly shriek and leapt up and flapped my hands around and squealed, “Kill it! Kill it!” until Husband (who hates to kill spiders or anything else but can apparently be swayed by my panic) squashed it with a book.
Good riddance!
I like spiders because of the adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Spiders eat mosquitoes and flies and I hate, hate, hate those insects.
Mel claims she’s received spider bites, but I don’t have any evidence of any of that. I’ve had our local spiders crawl all over my hands as I bring them outside to live and wish them well culling the annoying insect population for me.
You brute.
Not me, Husband. He’s the one that killed it!
My role as instigator was minor at best.
I know this wasn’t your point, but my right hand was getting sore a a few years ago so I switched to my left hand. It was a bit hard at first, but now I can use either hand.
I don’t like Spiders either. I can control it, but they give me a harsh case of the willies.
Steve
I love spiders and hate countries and patriotism. So in answer to your question the ‘salute’ I adopt during the national anthem is to flip the bird.