It’s Spiders, not Nazis
Woman in the Middle | April 9, 2014I am a little worried about what the neighbors think of me. I am walking around my yard with my arm held straight out from my body, hand pointing to the distant horizon. Yes, it does look like something out of a World War II newsreel about the German army. But really, it has nothing to do with Nazis, it has to do with spiders!
I really really do not like spiders. The idea that one might end up on me is, well, too appalling to even contemplate. Last summer we went out one evening about 8 p.m. for a walk and I didn’t notice that a good-sized spider had created a four-foot or so wide web between the crepe myrtle tree and my car. I walked right into it and actually felt the spider brush the top of my head before it scrambled away. I am getting the willies just typing this!
Warm weather had returned this week and with it my concern that the spiders have returned. In order to try to minimize my contact with large spider webs, I am back to doing what I call me “spider salute.” I sometimes wonder what the neighbors think when they see me walking around with my arm sticking out in front of me. The only other thing I can think to do is get a big long stick and wave it around in front of me. I can just imagine th neighbors seeing me going out to get the newspaper in the morning, waving a big stick in front of me. Sigh. I think I will just stick to my spider salute.
I like the idea of your “spider walk.” If you add a march to it, you will really confound the neighbors and maybe the spiders too.
Spider webs creep me out but walking around like a Nazi is a bit funny
You instantly become a ninja when you walk into a spider’s web.
When I was about 12 I walked out our back door & spider landed on my arm. I screamed so loud, Mom thought I’d fallen & broken something. Now my spider phobia is less, but I still don’t like walking into a web.
Actually, my father does the wave the stick thing. He has a long set of stairs down and a long driveway up to walk to get to the newspaper in the mornings and once spider season begins there are always webs along the way. So he keeps one of his hiking poles by the door and uses that to clear the path.
Once, when I went camping, I went to my tent after dark to get something from my backpack. As I was ruffling through it, I felt something scrambling on my left hand. I shined my flashlight on it and I saw a green spider with yellow polka dots, about 2″ in diameter, sitting on my hand. I screamed so loud it echoed throughout the campsite. Eeuuww!!