Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Along Came A Spider

Probably like most of you, I enjoy occupying my mind in the morning with a little reading material during my time in the necessary room. I have a small magazine container next to the throne where I keep the latest issues of National Geographic, Racer, Time, etc., depending on what strikes my fancy. Lately my favorite has been Walking Man's new book "Stink", which seems apropos. (It's a darned fine little book of masterful poetry and if you haven't gotten one, git yur ass over to his place and order it.) One morning a couple of weeks back I found myself sans-magazine and while sitting and staring at the wall I noticed that a small spider had taken up residence in the corner behind the door. We have a fairly new house and it was built pretty bug tight and I wondered how this guy was going to make a living in a place with precious little prey around. I decided I would leave him be and see how long he lasts. He built a little web just above floor level, over a small crack in the shoe molding which provided a retreat when he felt threatened. Over the course of two weeks, he actually did collect two bugs, a small fly and a mosquito. Pretty slim pickings if you ask me. I kind of forgot about him when I got some new reading material but yesterday, he again caught my eye. He looked pretty bad. He was now full grown, but emaciated and obviously nearing the end. I felt sorry for him. He had spent his entire life in a little corner of my bathroom with nothing to eat and no prospects. He had never seen the sun or felt the rain. He couldn't know that just outside my door lay a paradise of bugs and places to hide. I decided he deserved a chance, so I got him to crawl onto a piece of paper and took him outside. I didn't want to just place him in the yard because I was afraid that would be too much. Spiders, all insects for that matter, know their location by the overhead canopy. They actually navigate by the map they see overhead. This guy had seen nothing but a ceiling his whole life so I thought a spot in the carport would be perfect. I placed him on top of a small tool cabinet, near the back porch light, which always attracts lots of insects. I carefully set him down and watched like a doting parent as he slowly took in his new surroundings and tentatively took his first steps, moving one leg, then another. As I watched, from under a nearby flower pot, a gecko ran out and ate him.

10 comments:

  1. Ah, the circle of life in a domestic jungle. A spider minding it's own business. You play God. Gecko gets reward. Maybe you should stick to pooping next time.

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  2. Just like the gecko, out from under some blogosphere rock darts a denizen of the deep to devour what is obviously a mission of compassion and mercy, and turn it into a lame attempt at scatological humor. I'll bet you eat Veal.

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  3. Hmm well.. you fed a gecko! :D

    I feel sympathy towards the spider... poor guy =/ It's good to know you were trying to give him a helping hand!

    p.s.

    Did you get my thanks for the award on your last entry?? haha!

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  4. JJ... Raw veal. Would that be veal zeal? Har Har Har

    EOR... Yes, WM does indeed rock.

    JP... Yes, I did get your thanks and thank you for it, although I'm not sure this is something to be thankful for (but you can have some fun with it.) To receive your award, right click the image, copy and paste, or save to your PC for use on your site.

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  5. Funny Mr. C that's exactly the same spot where I wrote that poetry at. We are now connected by circumstance. ha ha thanks for the nod.

    Hard to hate a gecko for being a gecko eh?

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  6. When reading this I tried very hard not to draw an analogy with my relocating intellikid to the wilds of Boston.

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