Spiders are spinning their webs like mad around here lately. It must be a late-summer thing. I love the spider web. And I think I even love spiders. I certainly love Charlotte.
There are many classes of bugs, however, that I do NOT love. Which, naturally, leads me to the question: Bugs. How do you feel about them? Tell us. Or tell us a Bug Story, if you've got one.
Ellie:
Our neighbor Frank, across the street, a burly Italian guy who drives a Cadillac even though I don't think he's even 30 yet, is deathly afraid of spiders. Which cracks me up. I mean, he's just so much bigger than the poor little web-spinners.
We've had our share of creepy crawlers in our years in the Westy. And I'm usually okay with them. Snakes, though, I cannot stand. They scare me. In a deep, primitive way. And we did actually see a rattlesnake once, in the wild. We were on our bikes, in southeastern Arizona, and heard that distinctive rattle. That will send a shiver through your bones. We watched him for a while from the safety of our wheels, then he slithered (blech) away. I like to think I was brave enough not to dream about him that night......
I do however, love the song "I don't like spiders and snakes." Although, frankly, when I was a kid I remember it being a much cooler song than it is with that geek singing it.....
Jacquie:
Um, Ellie? Just for the record... snakes are not technically bugs.
I have mixed feelings about bugs. I really want to be the kind of human who lets the circle of life continue unmolested, but my tendency when I see a bug before me is definitely to squash it. I'm sorry, Mother Nature.
My girl is quite dramatically afraid of bugs. She used to be terrified that a "long legger" was going to crawl up from the bathtub drain (damn those stupid berenstein bears, because that's exactly what happened during sister's tub when mama bear went on strike from cleaning). When she sees a bug, she screams in a way that leaves no doubt in one's mind that the murderer has begun separating her from her limbs.
Thankfully, the bug population in So California is less prolific than I remember from my own childhood. (remember the year of the gypsy moths? a bona fide biblical plague) During our recent visit to Connecticut, though, both of my kids became enamored of the fireflies that lit the night. They were enthralled by the way the critters would sit on their finger and hang out. They were certain that the bugs must have really liked them. I'm proud to report that not a single firefly was squashed. That I know of.
Jacquie:
Um, Ellie? Just for the record... snakes are not technically bugs.
I have mixed feelings about bugs. I really want to be the kind of human who lets the circle of life continue unmolested, but my tendency when I see a bug before me is definitely to squash it. I'm sorry, Mother Nature.
My girl is quite dramatically afraid of bugs. She used to be terrified that a "long legger" was going to crawl up from the bathtub drain (damn those stupid berenstein bears, because that's exactly what happened during sister's tub when mama bear went on strike from cleaning). When she sees a bug, she screams in a way that leaves no doubt in one's mind that the murderer has begun separating her from her limbs.
Thankfully, the bug population in So California is less prolific than I remember from my own childhood. (remember the year of the gypsy moths? a bona fide biblical plague) During our recent visit to Connecticut, though, both of my kids became enamored of the fireflies that lit the night. They were enthralled by the way the critters would sit on their finger and hang out. They were certain that the bugs must have really liked them. I'm proud to report that not a single firefly was squashed. That I know of.
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Beth:
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Hmm, bugs.... In general they do not bother me. Spiders especially do not bother me, and like Jacquie's kids, I am enamored of/with(?) fireflies. I mean, they light up, how cool is that?
I guess spinning a web is equally as cool, as is turning from a leggy, worm-like being into a beautiful winged butterfly. When I give it a moment of thought, I guess there ARE some pretty cool insects out there.
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However, I cannot adhere to the tenant of ahimsa when it comes to mosquitoes. I find I just cannot turn the other cheek. They're blood suckers for pete's sake. If you don't put a pesky mosquito in its place, it will literally feast on you all night long. Sorry, Ghandi.
2 comments:
Beth is the first person I've ever enountered who has used the word "ahimsa" in a sentence. I agree, Beth, about the bug thing. Slaughter the damn mosquitos, ahimsa notwithstanding. G. would understand.
Would kill a mosquito anytime, anywhere though they are winning their war on me. Don't mind spiders and "outside" ants and find that battling slugs provides a secondary use for old beer. Any inside bugs are asking for my foot, a whipped towel or a thrown magazine. Could never suggest that I carry them outside - no one would believe me.
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