Tarantula Hunter

About 8:45 AM this morning we received a knock on our door.  The older lady from a few doors down was standing on the porch in her robe and slippers.  Needless to say, this is a bit of an unusual occurrence so I let her in to see what was the matter.

“Is you husband home?”  Her voice was shaky and she was out of breath.

“No, he’s not right now.  What’s the matter.”

“I swear I saw a tarantula go across my dresser and down the wall behind it.”

“Oh…” I said.  “Well, do you want me to come look for it.”

“No, I thought your husband might be home.”

She was still shaking and obviously in distress.

“Look, let me get my shoes on and let me come over and see if I can find him.”

She didn’t know that my husband is a wimp when it comes to spiders and probably wouldn’t have been much help anyway.  I ran downstairs, grabbed my robe and slippers (it’s Saturday, remember, I stay in pj’s as long as possible on Saturday), grabbed a magazine for squishing purposes and went to her house.

She showed me where she thought she had seen the spider and gave me a flashlight.  I looked all up and down the wall, behind the dresser and in every possible tarantula hiding spot I could conceive of.  No spider.

“I’m not crazy and I don’t drink” she said.

“I believe you saw it,” I said.  

“I just got out of the hospital.  I don’t need this,” she said.  “How did it end up in my house anyway.”

“Well, the only thing I can figure is that someone had a pet they didn’t want to take care of and they let it outside.  Tarantulas don’t like cold weather so I guess he just found  way in somehow.”

The poor thing was literally terrified.  Shaking.  She wouldn’t let me try and move the dresser, afraid I’d hurt my back (which I already have…probably a combination of tension and an overzealous set of abdominal crunches) but I’d have tried it to calm her down.  She knocked on another neighbor’s door hoping to find a burly man capable of moving dressers and slaying tarantulas.  No men being readily available, I stayed with her while she called the police who told her they didn’t handle bugs, animal control did and they wouldn’t open until 10:00.  At that point, I wasn’t sure what to do and I didn’t want to leave my kids unattended any longer so I left her my phone number and told her to call if she needed me.

I went back over once Jim I arrived home from a men’s meeting at church.  She was on the phone with animal control who told her they also didn’t deal with bugs and that an exterminator would have to be called.  Fortunately, she had a called a friend of hers who would be coming ASAP with her husband to move the furniture and find the little bugger.  She handed me a can of Raid and I attempted fogging the little guy out to know avail.  I don’t know if she actually saw a spider or not.  Apparently, her doctors had changed quite a few of her medications following this last hospital visit so who knows what it might be doing to her mind.  

I guess sometimes God lets a tarantula out of the closet to let you know life’s not all gloom and doom, right?  

Please keep Jim in your prayers.  He has recently been diagnosed with “chronic depression” with the possibility of a few other diagnoses.  He is beginning treatment  to include both medication and therapy which will hopefully help him get back on track.  It will take time though and I am sure will have it’s share of ups and downs for all of us, but most especially Jim.