I was driving down the road, keep in mind I live in the country and walking across the road like it owned it was a huge spider. A big hairy black creepy long-legged tarantula almost as big as my car. He honestly wasn’t waiting for me to get by before he decided to make his way in front of me. I think he sensed my fear long before I got near him. I should have hit him or something, but he was too big. I think it might have messed up my bumper or something.

The fear of spiders has actually been moved to the top of the list of the number one phobia people have. Arachnophobia, Fear of Spiders, what a menacing name for such menacing creatures. Sure, people who aren’t afraid of them will tell you that you are being silly. There is nothing to be afraid of, they won’t hurt you, etc, etc. I can speak from experience a totally different story. I’ve been treated by doctors for three confirmed Fiddle Back (Brown Recluse) spider bites. This tends to make your fears even more of a bigger issue in your life and you try to avoid these 8-legged creatures at all costs.

I am a very rational person, just not when it comes to spiders, because they are not rational, so how can I be? My husband didn’t realize the full extent of my fear until he decided to tease me about a big one crawling in my convertible, while we were in it. We had seen one of those huge tarantulas walking across the parking lot of a gas station out in the country. I had left the top down on my mini cooper and when we went to get in the car, the spider was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t until we were driving down the road buckled in the seats, my playful husband Bradd decided to say, “I think it crawled in the car.”  All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe, I just knew it was going to get me and I freaked out worse than I ever had before.  After my hyperventilation episode which neither one of us expected, I think he realized my fear was indeed real.

We have a blow torch in the garage to light the Big Green Egg Barbecue Grill but Bradd said I am not allowed to use it in the demise of any spiders. He is very logical, he said it would most likely catch the house on fire. I can see his point, but the spider would be dead and in the moment of fear, I’m not rational.

Fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger whether the threat is real or imagined. So, it doesn’t matter whether every spider wants to hurt me or not, I imagine they do, and my fear is real. No one can convince me otherwise, but it’s not healthy for me to feel this way. I honestly want to conquer my fears, so how do I do this? Aristotle believed courage to be the most important quality in a man/woman. “Courage is the first of human virtues because it makes all others possible.” I just need more courage in this area, I guess.

I wonder if the Wizard of Oz is still available…hmm.

©2022 Marsha L. Brown