A FRIENDLY SPIDER
© Maggi Norris 2001

When I moved to Phoenix my daughter Jessica was almost 8 years old. She and her sister, Jo, slept in bunk beds. Jess, being youngest, slept on the bottom bed.

One morning, I was up having my tea waiting on the kids. Jess wakes up to find a HUGE spider on the wall staring her straight in the eye. She calmly slid across the bed and gets out.

The spider follows... right across her pillow!

That was too much for Jess. She screams a death scream, which scares the life out of me. I jump up.

Then... here comes Jess, tearing out of her bedroom fast as her little legs will carry her and jumps into my arms. She is screaming at the top of her lungs, making absolutely no sense. She just keeps screaming and pointing down the hall.

There, coming straight toward us, was the biggest, hairiest spider I have ever seen in my life. It was so big, you could hear it's feet click on the floor when it walked. It was coming straight for us. I grabbed Jess tighter and started to move to the living room.

It followed.

Here we are.... both of us screaming at the top of our lungs. We tear out of the condo and race to the landlords. We tell them they HAVE to come get that monster, NOW!

The landlady says... what color was it?

COLOR???? Who cares what color it was lady???????

Jess and I both screamed.... IT WAS HAIRY!

She laughed. She calls the bug guy and says.... Go home, he will be there soon!

Ya right lady, in your deepest darkest nightmares am I going back in there!

We go home. We stand outside staring in the patio door watching this spider.... groom itself like a cat... right in the middle of the living room floor. We are both creeping out. Grossing out. Goose pimples grew to new heights that day!

At about this time, I remember Jo is still in there. I go peek in the bedroom window. She is still asleep.

I AIN'T going back in there.

Finally, after about an hour, the bug guy arrives. He comes over where we are. We are screaming about tarantulas and being breakfast to monsters. He takes a look in the patio door and starts laughing.

LAUGHING????

He says.... That's just a wolf spider.

He calmly explains... All spiders are friendly and really like people, but the wolf spider is one of the MOST friendly. It is also... harmless. It just wants to play!

PLAY??? Not with me or my kids!

A spider as big as a plate is NOT harmless. Not to me! It could cause heart failure or seizures or your brain to explode from fright!

He walks into the house. The spider walks over to him, follows him out the door!

He says... See!

Jess and I both are growing even bigger goose pimples and both of us are just staring with our chins on our chest.

He picks up this spider that takes two hands to handle and puts it... on the front seat of his truck...

AND PETS IT!!!!!

He thanks me for giving the zoo a great new friend. He pushes the spider over, gets in the truck, and drives off.

Jess and I tiptoe back into the house like timid mice. I finally get up a bit of nerve and race into the bedroom...

Jo is still asleep.

Home   |   Search    |   Text Menu

Trophy Case    |    Nem5 Awards    |    Maestro Awards
The Beeline    |    Medals of Excellence    |    Awards Worksheet

Click here to break out of another site's frames.

Design by GrafxDiva & Nem5.  Photography by Nem5.