Spiders

This past weekend was our Indiana SCBWI conference. We always have a large conference during the year and it is usually held in Indianapolis. No exception this year, so I packed up the car, met my friend Peggy along the way, and with beautiful driving weather and good company, made the journey.

Except.... errr...... did I say good company? Two is company, three's a crowd. And there was a third passenger in my car. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement. At the same time, Peggy says, "Uh, Katie, there's a spider in your car."

Hold the phone. I don't do spiders. And apparently, neither does Peggy! So I replied with, "We have to pull over. Now."

The nearest (and only) place to pull off the highway was a tiny cemetery. How appropriate. So I pulled in and we quickly got out of the car to assess the situation. Big (the size of a grapefruit), thick, hairy, fast moving spider and no one brave enough to kill it.

After trying to get it to climb onto a piece of paper, which wasn't going to work because the thing has eight eyes and can clearly see us, I decide I've got to be brave. I grab the Kleenex (five, so there will be a cushion between the spider and me), give myself a pep talk, and go for the kill. Only, I'm not brave, and I miss. And the thing falls under my driver's seat, which prompts me to scream my special spider call.

Another chase ensues, with me pulling the car seat forward and backward, and Peggy sticking a pencil under the seat trying to get this creepy thing to move. Under the car seat, by the way, we find all sorts of unspeakables...old food, a flashlight, wrappers, pens (sorry for the mess, Peggy). And luckily, in those yuckies under the car seat is an old white water bottle cap. And the black spider crawls on that white cap so we can see him.

This time, brave as I can be, I pick up my Kleenex, count to three, and..... I did it! I got him, tossed the remnants into the cemetery, and gave myself a loud cheer.

Somehow, we managed to make it to our meeting (almost on time) and I learned a great deal, which I'll share in future posts.

Thanks for stopping by,
Katie