Itsy Bitsy Spider

Linda Burton posting from Lincoln, Nebraska – Which frightens you most – spiders or lightning? For me it has always been lightning, like the stuff that welcomed me to Nebraska today in a frenzy of white slashing black over the green prairie to the west. Could I outrun the storm? It was moving west to east; I was traveling south to north; it was a futile contest; I lost. I’ve never seen much lightning before, as I tend to head for cover at the sound of the first thunderclap. Today I had no choice but to look. I had to keep my eyes on the road and sky; there was no place to stop; only open prairie. By sheer force nature made me realize just what amazing tricks it can do. Cloud to ground! Cloud to cloud! I counted more than a hundred streaks before the storm engulfed me with rain and then I couldn’t see a thing. Until I reached my hotel and flipped the blinker to signal left. That’s when I saw the spider and forgot the storm. My priorities changed! It was a substantial-looking brown spider, directly above the steering column and crawling down. I grabbed the first thing I could – a piece of paper with today’s driving directions – and smashed it against the spider. I missed. The spider fell to my feet. I’d heard tales of wrecks caused by insects; although the storm raged around me and traffic whizzed by on either side, my basic instinct was to jump out of the car. But I didn’t. I made it into the hotel parking lot and got the cats and myself  inside out of the storm, where I immediately began to read up on spiders. Because after all, that healthy brown arachnid was still in my car. » read more