Battle Grounds

I still can’t get over its size. Or its fragileness. Because when I smacked the hell out of it, two of its legs went flying in the opposite direction and crumpled like the gum wrapper foil. A spider the likes I haven’t seen since that one night in the shower in Micronesia when I was surrounded by a rat, a cockroach and a spider the size of the rat. I don’t know what freaked me out the most. But after all these years protected by the safe comforts of distance and time, I’m surprised I stayed and took a shower. I must have been pretty sweaty.

This spider, a bit smaller than a hardball, was scooting around the bedroom wall, heading for the curtains. Leaping about in an unpredictable fashion I expected it might jump into my bed. I lay, wondering how the hell it got into the condo. Based on the size it had to come through the front door, the only portal big enough for it to fit through. Believe me if I saw that hairy brown thing coming in the door I would have slammed the door in its fuzzy fangs.

Twenty four hours later, I still get creeped out that it was in the house. What make matters worse is that a six inch long multi-legged “worm” – some sort of pede – invaded the bedroom the night before the spider. I almost stepped on the damn thing coming back from the bathroom ala lights off. Thank God for my light colored bamboo floors. The creepy-crawly was hard to miss.

It was on the fast track determined to be some where when I diverted its track. Thinking it would just curl up in a ball and I would then scoop it up in a magazine to toss it outside I gave it a nudge. Ha. It rocketed off toward the bathroom in overdrive. Afraid it would make its way under the washer/dryer I diverted it to the toilet. The thing was wiggling like a worm on a hook but had as much fight as a marlin. Armed with a dust pan and the bright lights of the bathroom, I ditched it into the toilet and flushed half expecting it to crawl back out of the plumbing. I dropped the seat, wiped the sweat off my brow and went back to bed.

And to think I worried about a stupid cockroach.