Some Things You Only See When You Don't Have a Camera, Number 2

The spider was in a concrete chute leading into a storm drain. I don't know what drew my eye that way, but there it was: the largest spider that I have seen in the wilds of Georgia. I have seen spiders too numerous to count. I have killed most of them (see here). I have seen large spiders. With the exception of National Geographic, I have never seen one so large. If it had been hairy, it could have passed for a tarantula. It took no notice of me; it was so big it didn't need to. I examined it for a full five minutes, pondering my duty. Concluding that any swipe at it would probably only cause it to fall or retreat into the depths of the chute where it would undoubtedly breed tens of thousands of value-sized progeny, and given the fact that I was at least a mile from home, I elected to leave it be while secretly wishing that the man with the rifle was close by.

Since that moment of mercy two weeks ago, I have scoured the local headlines in fear of seeing something like, "Local Tot Assaulted, Dragged Under Ground by Massive Arachnid, Body Still Missing" or "House Encased in Silk, Inhabitants Trapped Within." I was shocked today when I read the following headline in the AJC, "Teen Claims Spiders Alerted Her to Fire." The story relates:

Danielle Vigue, 18, says she awoke early Tuesday to find spiders in her room, and started killing them. When more showed up, she says she went across the hall and got into bed with her 15-year-old sister, Lauren.

"At first there were five, they were all around the light fixture," Danielle Vigue told The Saginaw News. "I hate spiders, they freak me out."

A fire apparently was smoldering in the attic...

Later, the room was found to be filled with smoke and fire.

What is this? Could a new era in human-arachnid relations have sprung from my moment of mercy to the queen of Georgia spiders? Even the 30-year fire chief had never heard of spiders saving someone from a fire.

Sadly, the hope for a new era is mere self-deception and faulty thinking. Note that the story relates no evidence for a fire before the appearance and mass murder of several spiders. The fire was noticed after several spiders were killed. While it is impossible to reach any definitive conclusion, the spiders could have just as easily have started the fire in revenge for the death of their colleagues as fled from it.

With the issue ambiguous, I will await more definitive proof of the goodwill of spiders. Until then, I will be checking the batteries in my fire alarms.


Peace
..._