I had my first encounter with a scorpion tonight. Yeah... not so fun. We were having dinner on the patio at Jay & Marilyn's when Heather leans over and says very intently "Becky, move your feet." The look in her eyes and her tone was chilling. Very slowly I pick up my feet as everyone takes a look. Crawling toward my heel (I was wearing flip flops) was a scorpion. As it skittered away from my chair, Ben (a.k.a. MY HERO) squished it with his shoe. I'm still getting cold chills 4 hours later. Me, the girl who has no problem with spiders, snakes, etc, has found an insect that is now on the top of my CANNOT STAND list. I spent the rest of the evening with my feet up under me on the chair. Quite disturbing. My biggest shock was its appearance. It was not 4-6 inches long and black and easily identifiable as seen in old western movies. No, this one was about an inch long and a reddish brown that blended quite nicely with the scenery. Had I come across it by myself in a different setting, I may not have recognized it for what it was.
Joe immediately fetched his laptop to determine what kind of scorpion our departed friend was and I learned many things about scorpions tonight. The biggest revelation was my absolute, complete, unquestionable REVULSION to them. I now understand how Debbie felt with the fish in the Bahamas. I have repented for my participation in her torment as I now know what she endured. I hope to conquer this fear and cease to experience the crawling sensation on my feet when there are no insects present. Sweet dreams for me tonight, I'm sure! :(
3 comments:
Heather, Thank you, thank you, thank you! Becky, I am so glad that you were not stung.... is there a "season" when these critters are more active than usual?
Ew. Are the poisonous in Arizona? The only ones I've ever had to deal with were in South Carolina. They're small, and come in both red and black. But not poisonous enough to hurt you more than a bee sting-unless you're allergic or special.
When I was a kid, we were staying with a family friend in this huge house in S.C. In the middle of the night, Brandon got stung by one that was in his bed. It was the last place you'd expect it= this was a really "ritzy" place. BUt they can get in anywhere, the little critters. They give me the bajeebies too!
Yes, they are poisonous. We have several varieties. None that are deadly to a full grown, healthy adult, but are extremely dangerous to children, elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. There hasn't been a recorded death caused by these scorpions since 1968. I check my bed every night and my shoes every morning. We haven't had any problems with scorpions in our house - knock on wood!
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