A Week in Conneticut and the coming week in NYC

Currently on Assignment in the United States
Greenwich Village, New York City

I wrapped up a very enjoyable and mellow week at my sisters in Shelton CT. I've got it made. I spent most day's reading, exercising and hanging out with my 12 year old niece Alexa. Then my sis would come home from work and we'd enjoy a wonderful home cooked dinner. Love it, just what the doctored ordered. Sometimes it can be a challenge to come up with a good story to tell for the blog. The week was not boring by any stretch for me, but nothing earth shattering occurred. Except for the spider incident.

It happened on my last night. As I prepared to turn in after a long day of doing nothing, I noticed a spider the size of the palm of my hand in the center of my bed. At first I figured it was a fake left for me by my niece who is prone to such things. A quick poke revealed a quick and much alive hairy scary spider. I went into battle stance and called out to my sister to retrieve the Raid. I starting getting frantic as Tracy lollygagged with the Raid. I was concerned the beast would stealthily move to its lair within my room. Well when Tracy arrived the tension propagated like a shock wave. After a loud gulp of air followed by an "oh my god", my sis took cover and I took charge of the can of Raid. I thought Tracy may collapse, but was surprised that she maintained enough situational awareness to not let me blast away with the Raid and stain the bedspread. I'm not one to worry about staining things much as evidenced by my wardrobe. Safe from the reach of the arachnid, she hollered from behind the door not to hit the bedspread. I was overwhelmed with all this task direction and concern. The thing was really scary looking and it was occurring to me that I was going to have to sleep in this bedroom. I maneuvered the beast onto my new L.L. Bean backpack (its first real mission) and gingerly dragged it onto the floor. Shock and Awe erupted from the Raid can. Bulls eye! He/she retreated into the backpack proper and I moved to drop the backpack out the window and onto the deck.

Tracy and I deployed out to the deck to access the results of the skirmish. I dumped the backpacks contents and the corpse of the spider flopped out. It's a shame for the spider that humans are generally not thrilled with their appearance and the immediate result is to be attacked. We moved to post battle analysis using Google. While surfing through pictures on google images, Tracy nearly starting dry heaving, I nearly followed suit when I thought it may have been a brown recluse. A no joke poisonous spider that can do serious damage. But we finally concluded that our murder victim was a Dock Spider. A non-poisonous spider, but has a very painful bite. They typically hang out in damp, water prone areas such as lakes and basements. With all the rain in the north east it seems reasonable for the spider to be present. I didn't sleep well that night.

More to follow about my adventures in New York City. Pic #1 was taken during an evening stroll. Entrance to Washington Square Park, where Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan part company in "When Harry Met Sally." Pic #2 is Union Square during the Saturday Farmers Market.

Capt Chris