Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Heebie-Jeebies

Those of you that have never been to the South may not be able to appreciate the full shock of this story but you can substitute a cockroach for any other terrifying insect and you'll get the idea!

Today while driving to tennis practice, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. When I turned my head I saw a HUGE palmetto bug (that's what the Southerners call those outdoor roaches) on the passenger side floor. I swear to you that I almost wrecked the car! My body instantly tensed up and I couldn't stop looking at the ground for fear of it crawling onto me.
I know that it is completely irrational but I absolutely freak out when I see a roach. When a bug makes its way into my house Jason or Jackson have to spray it and pick it up because I just can't do it.
Well, by the time I got to the tennis court I'd lost sight of the bug. I thought it had crawled under the passenger seat but wasn't sure. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I jumped out of the car, grabbed my racket and by the time I got to the courts I had nearly stopped shaking. I told my teammates the story and gratefully, nearly all of them had similar stories and could empathize. (I was kind of afraid that they would think I was a northern wimp :)) One offered to drive me home, one offered to call her exterminator and another offered me her car until the roach was found! However, my teammate Anne, (who does not share my irrational fear of roaches) was so sweet and offered to investigate and rid my car of the creature after practice.
Happily, the roach was in plain sight in my cup holder and Anne bravely scooped it up and threw it outside. I tell you, I have goosebumps and shivers as I type this story! Yuck, yuck, yuck!
This is almost enough to get me to move to the West, except there they have scorpions...

6 comments:

Moss & Fern Cottage said...

HA.... Josh can apprecaite your fear... I am the spider, bug, anything with legs killer/take outside-er in our family.

But yes, a huge roach would freak me out too.

emily said...

Sick! We have our share of cockroaches here too...though thankfully I've never seen one in our apartment. I'm with you though, I seriously FREAK OUT when I see one (or a spider to be honest). And I might have crashed the car. At least you know it's gone now. Hopefully he doesn't have any little buddies hiding anywhere...

Kari said...

I remember the first time I saw a roach when we lived in Memphis I about lost it!! The first time I saw one in my house I thought I must be a terrible housekeeper ... until I found out EVERYONE had one now and then. Luckily I only had a few unwelcomed visitors actually come into my house - but never my car! Glad to know you've been ridded of your problem ... for now ;)

Anonymous said...

You are superwoman...tennis team?! How do you find time to do all that you do? Please bottle up your energy, determination, self-discipline, etc. and send it to San Antonio!:)

Good news...I'm getting ready to start my fundraising for TNT! Thanks for the encouragement!

Love you and miss you,
Anne

Unknown said...

you and me both--i get soooo grossed out and scared when i see one. carter is actually my bug killer. he has perfected the art of smashing and flushing.

Jen

Tanya said...

It's tarantula (sp?) seaason here! I saw one climbing on my garage door. I don't know where it went. I had the pest control come and spray again just to feel a bit better.