thousand-leggers

if you know me well, you know that i don't like bugs. i guess most people don't. okay, so not liking bugs is an understatement; i detest bugs. i used to have these recurring nightmares of giant mechanical roaches and spiders coming after me. no joke! thank GOD i haven't had one of those in a while, but of course, that...dislike just doesn't go all that well in the country, where i'm constantly discovering species of creatures i've never seen.

one of those creatures is the thousand-legger, aka the millipede. maybe i saw one when i was younger. i mean, living in mexico and traveling to small villages i'm sure had its bug-seeing moments. never, as long as i can remember, have i laid eyes on such a yucky, yet almost pretty creature. during our excursion to alma, i came upon such a creature - the thousand-legger. i have this instinct that i haven't been able to control - a screaming instinct when i come across a yucky bug that's out to get me. well, that's what i did when i saw the thousand-legger in the sink as i was about to wash my hands. the MIL, now knowing the meaning of my cries for help, came to my rescue, but to no avail. she quickly escorted me out of the bathroom while yelling, "mom!!!" immediately grandma elsie ran in to see what the fuss was about. without hesitation, she just ran water on it, and down the sink mr. thousand-legger went.

unfortunately, i was a bit too startled to go for the camera so that you could understand my consternation with mr. thousand-legger, but here are some pictures that might help. oh, but just so you know, the actual mr. thousand-legger was about 3.5 inches long, and with his leg span he was about 1.5 inches wide.

these are almost his very colors, but he had more legs


his legs numbered about this many...but they were much longer


and this...well, it just goes to show why i don't prefer them


p.s. i didn't use that bathroom sink the remainder of the time we were in alma :)