Dirge

Part of growing up is facing the fact that some people from your core group of friends will splinter off as they start their own families. Three days ago I had to say goodbye to my closest friend here in Eugene, as it seemed like she would be starting her own family at some point in the near future. Who is this mystery woman? The spider who lived in my bathroom since I moved in.

For the last few weeks she has been above my mirror every single morning, and while occasionally she'll move over near the toilet or by the shower, she always returned to the corner by the sink. It was rather nice, in a way, to know somebody was waiting at home for me each day, but as the season turns to winter, I feared she would decide to lay a sack of spider eggs somewhere and I would be overrun with little kiddies everywhere. Since I still live like a homeless man and sleep on the floor (I have no bed), the idea of potentially hundreds of tiny spiders running around was a bit too much to stomach. So I decided to release her into the wild and put her out in the bushes.

It was actually kind of a touching goodbye. I think she knew I was sending her off to greener pastures, because when it came time to gather her up she was suddenly gone, and I had to search until I found her hiding on my shower sponge.

So this is what is sounds like...when doves cry!