Little Miss Muffet

Have I mentioned that I don't like spiders? I am told by friends that most of them are quite harmless and in fact help to control the more destructive insects. I hear, "remember Charlotte!" and all the other things that are suppose to make me feel good about the abundance of spiders that are lurking about my place. And I know that they are watching me and just waiting for their chance to ensnare me in their web.

I remember as a young girl sitting at a family gathering and seeing a spider dangling from a thin strand of webbing just above my head. At the time I laughed and slid my stool over a few feet, only to see the spider finish coming down and scampering over to where I sat. I moved again, still with a laugh, getting a little less joyful, and once again the spider changed direction, at which point I leaped from the stool and raised across the room just like poor Miss Muffet!