RSS | 
Twitter
| 
Be a fan!
Along came a spider?
You may have read "Charlotte's Web" as a youngster, or read it to your children or grandchildren. You may have slapped the animated version into the DVD player to keep the kids entertained.
If so, you'll remember the book's primary message: Never kill a spider. Arachnids, as you know, subsist on true vermin, giving them a prominent place on the food chain when it comes to keeping humans healthy.
So I don't kill spiders. But wouldn't you know, one of them quite possibly could have been trying to kill me.
Rate This Story:
1 the lowest - 5 the highest
Current rating:
At the center of the blotch is a small lesion. That's the spot where, we theorize, some kind of venomous varmint sunk its fangs.
Yes, it's just a theory. When I went to see a doctor, she wasn't sure what it was, other than a nasty skin irritation that had started to abscess. She wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic, told me to soak my knee in hot water periodically and suggested that I go to the emergency room if it got worse.
The spider hypothesis comes from similar symptoms displayed by my sister-in-law's husband after he definitely was bitten. Plus, Mrs. Funk looked up Internet photos of people suffering from spider bites. Looked sort of familiar.
But if that's what got me, I have no idea of when or where I may have encountered my arachnid nemesis. All I know is that if I would've seen it, I wouldn't have killed it, thanks to Mr. White's words of wisdom.
I first noticed something was amiss while reading a book about Australia - coincidentally, that's home to many of the world's most venomous creatures - and felt an itch. A cursory examination revealed something that looked like a common pimple, so I didn't give it much of a thought until the itch evolved into pain.
Soon I was limping into the clinic, then back out with a 10-day supply of pills. I'm no fan of antibiotics - I have enough stomach problems under normal circumstances - but I'm even less of a fan of feeling like someone is jabbing a pencil into my knee.
Assuming I survive, here's a question: Do I hold a grudge?
I'm somewhat tempted to declare war on spiders. But that's not fair. I have only circumstantial evidence against the arachnid population. And I still think that most spiders, like our friend, Charlotte, are inherently good for humanity.
But if I'm civil to them, I expect something in return:
Keep your fangs to yourself!
Online editor Harry Funk can be reached at hfunk@observer-reporter.com.
- Keep it civil and stay on topic.
- No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks.
- Comments that harass others or joke about tragedies will be deleted.
- Keep it brief and turn off all caps.
- No URLs.
