Ever wonder what it feels like to have a bucket of ice poured over your unsuspecting body? To those of you who do not hold the title of football coach, I'm thinking perhaps not. This is the feeling I got when I turned around and saw this HUGE spider sitting behind me!
I had just recently moved into my first and very own apartment. I was attending school at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL at the time and was super excited because I could attend school and not have to live in the crowded dorms. This was the first time I had lived completely on my own and I was still getting a handle on the tricks of the trade! One night during finals, I had just gotten home from work and felt the slow haze of sleep washing over me, I hadn't slept in 2 nights. Yawning, I decided to make up a quick dinner in the kitchen before heading in to crash on my bed. I had just finished warming up the spaghetti when I turned around and saw the fury, eight-legged monstrosity behind me. I thought it was going to eat me. Never in all my years had I witnessed a spider so big--except for maybe on TV.
I froze, that bucket of ice I been poured over me and I sat there like an icicle, a warm drip of Prego running down the fork that was raised halfway to my mouth. Three thoughts tonged like bells in my mind, 1. Kill! 2. Cute! 3. Alone! I could see the eyes of the spider looking at me--following my every move. It felt as though I was being hunted, and yet--could it be that I was not the only one who was lonely in this apartment? Was the spider looking for a friend like I was? My utter love for animals and fear of spiders had conflicted me into a motionless, zombie-like state. Finally, I moved just enough to grab my camera which was sitting across the counter--my ever present need for story material had jerked me out of my frozen haze. I snapped the picture wondering if that was going to be the last move I made in my short life. The spider continued to stand still---watching me--and then, it took one step--and then one more. It was coming towards me and I decided that there was NO way I could live peacefully in my new apartment if I knew this thing was crawling around the place.
I always wish I could've found a way to take the spider outside, back to its natural habitat where it could live a long and happy spider life. However, there was no way I could bring myself to come any closer to it, my heart was already pounding itself to an early death. As the spider came toward me I grabbed the nearest thing to my hand---a frying pan (no old hag, rolling pin or broom jokes please) and I dropped it straight down on top of my unfortunate house guest. An eyeball popped out. I screamed. The horrors of my dreams had awakened and were advancing upon me! I was not prepared! I was in pink pajamas that now sported a new Prego stain! What could I do?
My eyes searched frantically around the room for any sign of a weapon that I could use to make sure this nightmare was dead. They landed on my pair of 10 lb. dumbbells. I grabbed, I lifted, I threw down, and I felt like a murderer. This was the biggest living creature that I had ever killed and I felt completely awful. The poor spider hadn't done anything to me---not really. I sank down on the floor and prepared myself for another sleepless night. Living alone was harder than I thought.
