The year was 1991. It was November. We left the deep freeze of Winnipeg and headed south to a magical island called Montserrat. Montserrat is an island in the West Indies. You take a 10-15 minute little plane ride from Antigua to the tiny little volcanic island. A place more breath-taking than anything in my most beautiful fantasies. It truly was a magical, tropical paradise. So, being that we were living for 2 weeks on a Southern Tropical Island...I wrapped my head around the fact that there would be bugs and creatures of which the likes I have never seen in the flesh before. And I was okay with this. Even at 16 years old. I wasn't about to complain. I was just taken along to spend 2 weeks away from school...away from the frigid cold...to spend family time in a place where dreams are made of. I would have even enjoyed sleeping in a moldy tent just to have had that special time there. Anyways...we wanted to see every square inch of the wee little island. Along with the villa we rented off our friends we had a car available to us and drove all over the place. Visiting the little villages and buying their food and locally hand made products. We talked to as many people as possible. Sometimes just to have conversation and other times to find out where the best beaches or place to eat out were. (best restaurant experience ever...in this family's backyard...sitting at a huge cable spool...surrounded by the chickens we were eating and being served by the children of the house. So awesome!) One of the beaches we were directed to go to was called "Little Hideaway Beach". And hidden away it was. We had to park at the bottom of a little mountain and climb up one side, down the other to get to this amazing spot. The hike over the mountain was quite awesome. Basically walking through rain forest. Cool trees and vines and bushes and bugs and birds...and heat...lots and lots of heat. I kept to myself on this walk. Soaking in the scents and memories to last me my lifetime. Just walking the trail following my brother and sister and staying in my own little world. All of a sudden...fwoosh. My face is covered in spider web...I walked right through it. Yucky! I just swept the web off of my face and kept on hiking. Then again...fwoosh. argh! I open my eyes to swipe it off again. But this time there is a shiny black/brown spider with reddy/orange spots dangling between my eyes. I scream bloody murder and start flailing like an idiot. I am crying and screaming and crying and hitting my face and feeling creepy crawlies all over me. My mom rushes to me to see what has just happened. I am trying to talk through my screams and begging her to take them off of me. She is saying there is nothing on me but I can feel millions of spiders crawling all over my body now. I just start running...as fast as I can. I run all the way down the mountain and dive into the awaiting blue waves to wash me of all my hallucinations of grandeur. ha ha! It was just only ever that one spider but it scared me so bad I started to hallucinate. I was traumatized. Seriously traumatized. I got over it that day because how could I not. I had some sun bathing to get to and snorkeling to enjoy. Even build some sand creatures...well, bury my sister in the sand and make her look like a mermaid with big boobies! :o) Well...that one incident DID in fact stay with me. It stayed with me hard core for 17 years.
A few months before we moved over to Gabriola I realized that I had no choice but to get over my pathetic fear. I only call it pathetic because really, spiders ain't all that bad. I mean come on. I am 5'6"...120 lbs. That must be at the very least one zillion times the size and height of your regular everyday house spider. Especially a Daddy Long Legs. They can't weigh more than the tiniest feather. Here is my trick. Every time I saw a spider...yes, even the teeny, tiny ones that no one but an arachnophobic moron would notice...I would force myself to get close to them and stare right into their eyes. Don't know where their eyes even are cause sometimes all you see is grossness...but I would stare them down. I started with the tiny ones and worked my way up from there. When we moved to Gabriola my very good friend Megan (she's so smart) bought me two things as a housewarming present. 1. Book on how to deer proof your garden...VERY important here on deer island. 2. A spider catcher. This thing is the best contraption ever in the history of spider catching...not killing devices. Because, I don't really want them all to die even though that is all I would ever scream for years. "KILL THAT SPIDER!!!!" What makes my life so much more important than theirs? They have a real job to do too. Soooo, anyways...this spider catcher...awesome. It is a trap door like thing-a-majiggy. You trap them in this clear plastic tent like dome and then you can bring them outside into your garden or drop them in the grass. But the most awesome thing about this "Spider Trap" is the clear plastic. Once they are inside you can stare at them so closely and they will NEVER be able to jump on you or shoot their web in your face or try and bite you. You are safe as the trap holder. It comes from Lee Valley...go and buy one. Having the ability now to stare evil right in the face I have overcome my fear. And I know now that it truly is no longer a fear because of what happened yesterday...
We had a big old burn in the afternoon. Our yard is chock full of wood debris...and paper garbage stuff too. So we really needed to have a big fire. Out of one of the boxes of paper crap came this big huge wood spider. Like, he was really big. But I didn't freak out. I watched him walk away from the flames and then walk back. I thought he was quite dumb actually for going back towards the heat. A few minutes later Clint spotted him about 10 feet away from the burn pile...just chilling on the rock. I think he may have gotten a bit too close to the heat as one of his legs had a little blister on it. (I noticed it in the photo)
But...my recognition of my loss of my fear came when I had no problem placing a toonie beside his body. I didn't flinch or tense up. I just did it. And he didn't seem to mind me around either. It was like he too realized the strength I had to do this feat and he was proud of me. Also, probably happy I did not smoosh him with my runner.
Anyhow, it was a great day. I got to have a huge burn in our front yard and enjoy for a brief moment the company of one big, bad ass spider. I wonder if he enjoyed the burning of the rotten wishing well...I sure did! Look at it BURN!!
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