"KINDRED SPIRITS ARE NOT SO SCARCE AS I USED TO THINK.
IT'S SPLENDID TO FIND OUT THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM IN THE WORLD."
- Anne of Green Gables

Kindred Spirits

Sunday, August 1, 2010

The "HUGE Bug!" Experience

This is probably something akin to what I looked like a few nights ago. No, no, not like the donkey - like the kid. And no, this story does not have anything to do with donkeys.

(And just for in case you can't see what the caption says, it says "They will eat you alive.")


 Let me explain...

On... let me think... Wednesday night, my aunt and I had come home from the grocery store (we almost hit a fox or coyote or something like that on the way home, too!) and my aunt had just squished a spider on the ceiling.  So I went into the bathroom to get some toilet paper to wipe up the spider mess... and as I stepped in the door, something on the LARGE side flew up and then straight towards me.  This was the bathroom next to the kitchen, and I hadn't turned any lights on in that area, so it was quite dark.  When this thing flew straight at me, I screamed in surprise and terror (and I don't normally scream unless I'm really, truly scared/startled badly) and ran to the living room where the light was on (this is where the look on the scared kid's face comes in).  My aunt came back downstairs asking me what was the matter.  My reply was something like: "I went into the bathroom and *gulp, gasp*  a HUGE thing flew straight at me *gulp, gasp*!! I don't know what it was *gulp, gasp*!! It made a flapping noise, flew like a butterfly, and flew all around like crazy*gulp, gasp*!!!!!!!"  I was saying all this while gasping because my heart was in my throat and sometimes using my hands to describe the terrible beast (and I was perhaps losing my head a little, because when I get scared, I get scared for real)

We knew that the thing had flown into the kitchen and hid somewhere, so I decided to try and squish the very large bug with my aunt's sandal and a bug zapper.  But I eventually gave up because it was getting late and I was tired. So I went to bed.

The next day we didn't find out what it was... until it was night again, naturally.

I was getting ready for bed the next night and had come out into the hall, when I heard my aunt exclaim from downstairs "Oh, my goodness, it's a BAT!!!" and come partly up the stairs. When it flew towards her again, she came all the way up the stairs. Well, to make a long story short, I went downstairs determined to save the baby cousin out of the baby swing and away from the terrible beastly bat. The baby was rescued, and I caught the bat with a sheet. Now, we thought it was such a huge ghastly creature (it sure seemed that way when it was flying straight at us) but really had only about a foot long swing span, and it's body length was about the length of my palm - about 3 1.2 - 4 in. It was just a small fruit bat, but had caused so much trouble!! :) Oh, yes, and here are a couple pictures...

You can see how big he is compared to the screw to the above left of him.


The little trouble maker caught (and making a lot of squeaking/screeching)!!

And I have to admit, the little guy was pretty cute, but I sure wasn't about to ask my aunt to keep him!! :) Now we laugh at the fact that the night that I got scared from it I was only armed with a bug zapper and a sandal! :)

And to reassure ya'll, I just set the unharmed bat free - outside.

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