like mother, like daughter?
September 9, 2008 at 10:54 amDC, animals, cars, nature
Today I have no picture to offer, only a story and a link to what the picture may have looked like had I been calm enough to try and document this experience.
I get into my car yesterday after work, and I’m on my way home, down 16th street, the same way I commute home every day. I’m close to the Carter Baron tennis place for those of you who know where that is. I look over my shoulder to change lanes around a slow car, and then OH HOLY CRAP WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!!!!!!?????
Now I’m swerving off the road, driving forward but still staring into the back seat to make sure it’s not moving towards me. Possibly the most unsafe 30 seconds of driving I’ve ever done in my life, since I usually prefer to look out the front windshield. I throw the car into park and jump out, arms flailing (maybe a slight exaggeration) and leaving the door wide open. I am starting to hyperventilate.
This is the closest picture I can find online to what I was looking at in the back seat, approximately 10 inches from my face. PLUS, it was in a gigantic web that stretched from the back of my headrest all the way to the rear of the back seat.
And so I start frantically looking through my trunk, trying to slow my breathing down, and looking for something like a 12-foot pole to scoot this creature from hell out of the car. At this point, cop #1 rolls by and asks me if I’m ok. I can only guess that he saw my antics flying out of the car and/or was about to give me a ticket for reckless parking lot driving. I tell him, “I’m fine, but there is an enormous spider in my car.” He starts laughing, probably thinking “silly woman” …I tell him to come look at it, and even he is surprised. He radios his other cop buddy, nearby in the park, to come look. They both think it is nasty.
In all honesty, the web might have been the craziest part. I’m desperately hoping that thing wasn’t there when I drove to work in the morning, and that the huge orange spider was working his web-building hiney off all day long to make that thing. Anyways, cop #1 finally whisks it out for me. shudder. All I can think of now is that I wish my friend Lazyeye had been there, because she probably would have thought it was cute and petted it, and then saved it for her bug collection.
Now, I’ll bring you back to the title of the posting for a second because it is actually relevant. My mom used to always tell us the story of when she was driving when she was younger, and a little black spider came down on its string from the front windshield. And she freaked out. And we always made fun of her. But i’ll take it all back now, because I’m guessing that’s where I got my reaction from… And I will say that finding a weird orange spider chillin’ out in your car is scary. I suppose he crawled in from the edge of Rock Creek Park, which I park adjacent to every night. I will be doing thorough spider inspections in my car when I get in from now on…
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September 9th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
yikes! that is a scary yet hilarious story. i really hope the spider didnt look like that thing because that would make me crap myself. thank goodness you’re still alive!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Okay, I clicked on comment and wasn’t surprised to see that JJ had already commented. Wazz I would have freaked out too, but I’m glad the capitol police came to your rescue in my absence.