Attack of the killer caterpillar

August 15, 2008

When I interviewed for this job, out of curiosity I asked about the variety of wildlife in this area. I was assured that there was nothing poisonous and nothing that would attack and hurt me. I believed them, that is, until today. I was walking home from clinic with my flat mate when we came across a strange looking creature in our path. It was about 2 inches long, rotund, a brilliant shade of green, and had a blue horn on what one can only presume was it’s head. Could this be some mystical woodland creature? My mission was to save it from the feet that would inevitably stomp on it. With a stick in hand, I poked and probed to move the creature off the foot path and into the safety of the foliage. With one swift sweep of my stick I attempted to send it flying into the brush when all of a sudden it fell from the stick, onto my pant leg, and remained fastened there. I the pants, I did a dance, and finally, I panicked! With one leg on the ground and the other in the air, I hopped around screaming “get it off! Get it off!” while my flat mate burst into laughter and came to my rescue brushing the now offensive creature off. What a sight we must have been; two professional women in professional dress screaming about a caterpillar. From now on, I will leave strange creatures to fend for themselves.
~Nancy