I can't help but think "poor little guy/girl" whenever I see a spider peering up at me with those several compound eyes and crawling about on those spindly legs. This counters my roommates' instinctual response of "gaaagh! kill it!" instilled by horrific documentaries and internet photos of what supposedly happens to you after being bitten by certain spiders. Usually these photos are more fitting for flesh-eating virus after-pictures than a brush with an arachnid. Since we are hardly entomologists - even though my roommate is a biology major who took an internship studying the Japanese Beetle - we have no idea which are the harmless, "cuddly" spiders like Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web" or which ones are like the brown recluse which caused the rather distinctive scarring on my friend Mike's body. Naturally, this is a completely different story, but I'd like to think he wouldn't have been the same interesting person without his brush with death at a young age.
I jump in front of hurtling shoes. I allow potentially venomous creatures to crawl on my skin unscathed. I slowly slide open balcony and backyard doors as if handling an unmarked package left in front of a federal building. Why? It could be due to a superstition I read about how it is unlucky to kill spiders. Part of me thinks this is based on scientific fact since spiders catch other insects, the ones which are more likely to give you diseases due to their unhygienic ways. I figure that a small risk of stinging or being injected with toxic venom is worth not having to worry about botulism all over my kitchen countertop.
Also, I just relate to them. Wouldn't anybody? Spiders perform a useful, if little-known or underappreciated, service. I'm just the dumb kid in the mail room to most people. But somebody's got to send the books out to customers. Books don't just materialize out of thin air as soon as you place that online order, although I've received emails and phone calls from people who seem to carry that attitude.
So please, for all the dumb kids in the mail room, all the waiters and busboys, all the street sweepers and garbage collectors, please don't kill the spiders. Just do the kind thing and brush it into a glass, a small piece of paper, or even your hand if nothing else is available, and set the little guy/girl outside. They just might repay you by helping keep out the mosquitos, moths and houseflies.
If you don't, I'll bite you. After all, it won't be too hard to track down where you live since we keep your address and order on file.
I jump in front of hurtling shoes. I allow potentially venomous creatures to crawl on my skin unscathed. I slowly slide open balcony and backyard doors as if handling an unmarked package left in front of a federal building. Why? It could be due to a superstition I read about how it is unlucky to kill spiders. Part of me thinks this is based on scientific fact since spiders catch other insects, the ones which are more likely to give you diseases due to their unhygienic ways. I figure that a small risk of stinging or being injected with toxic venom is worth not having to worry about botulism all over my kitchen countertop.
Also, I just relate to them. Wouldn't anybody? Spiders perform a useful, if little-known or underappreciated, service. I'm just the dumb kid in the mail room to most people. But somebody's got to send the books out to customers. Books don't just materialize out of thin air as soon as you place that online order, although I've received emails and phone calls from people who seem to carry that attitude.
So please, for all the dumb kids in the mail room, all the waiters and busboys, all the street sweepers and garbage collectors, please don't kill the spiders. Just do the kind thing and brush it into a glass, a small piece of paper, or even your hand if nothing else is available, and set the little guy/girl outside. They just might repay you by helping keep out the mosquitos, moths and houseflies.
If you don't, I'll bite you. After all, it won't be too hard to track down where you live since we keep your address and order on file.
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