Monday, October 4, 2010

PERSPECTIVE MATTERS



Yup, it's Dreadful Monday again. Another whole work week looms ahead. Five long days of soul-deadening toil, selling your freedom for an inadequate amount of dollars just so you can put beans on the table. What a bummer! 

Well, cheer up, Bunky! Things could definitely be worse. You could be a carefree grasshopper out for a morning of sprightly leaps, perhaps a nibble or two on a tender stem, maybe a bit of a warm-up amid the rising sun. 

Suddenly…disaster! You make what you think is a masterful vault—a long arching leap, astonishing for its grace and distance…and land squarely in a sticky web. And a moment later some eight-legged horror scuttles out and begins sinking its venomous fangs into you while it spins and wraps and trusses you up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Which, of course, is already beside the point because you're paralyzed, your insides turning to soup—though the old nervous system hasn't quite yet caught caught on.

Now this, my friend, is a truly Bad Monday.

Unless, I should point out, you're a fat and hungry argiope spider—in which case your Monday is starting off rather well, with a big breakfast delivered fresh right to your doorstep. 

It's all a matter of perspective…
———————
      

10 comments:

George said...

Man, this is right out of a Stephen King novel, Grizz. Thank God I ate my own breakfast before entering this site to see what's on the plate of this spider. On the whole, your piece has served its purpose. With a striking photo and well-written verse, you have reassured me that perspective does matter, indeed, and that, my friend, will undoubtedly improve the prospects of this otherwise rainy day on the Chesapeake.

Grizz………… said...

George…

Indeed…there are Bad Days and BAD DAYS! An interesting scene for us; a fine meal for the spider; and a worst-case outcome for the grasshopper. It wasn't just my arachnophobia that caused me to shudder while scooching close enough to make this photo.

Glad I didn't cause you to toss your granola flakes!

The Solitary Walker said...

Glad you're warming (albeit slightly) to the arachnids, Grizz. As you say, it's all a question of perspective. Whatever... It's Tuesday tomorrow!

The Weaver of Grass said...

What a photograph Grizz - and the perspectives are interesting too.

Grizz………… said...

Solitary…

More like tolerating than warming…though I did encounter and attempted to photograph a furry little black spider with turquoise eyes a couple of days ago that was almost cute.

It is a matter of perspective so long as it's perceived outside.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

Wouldn't want to meet that grasshopper's fate, for sure. Makes morning commute traffic, spilling coffee on your new shirt, or forgetting that paperwork you needed to bring—you know, typical Monday morning stuff—almost pleasant by comparison.

Tramp said...

Griz
At the weekend "the boys" (son, 12 and step grandson, 6) rolled up the carpet we have outside (I supervised). Boy, there were some interesting creatures under there.
...Tramp

Grizz………… said...

Tramp…

I'll bet! As a kid, whenever I wanted to go fishing and needed bait, I used to lift up all the planks, pieces of sheet metal, squares of roofing, and bits of carpet and old building materials—whatever flat materials I could find on the ground in the neighbors back yards. They always hid plenty of nightcrawlers and redworms—but also all sorts of bugs, maybe a mouse or toad, lizard or snake or big ol' spider. You just never knew what might run out, but it was always varied and interesting.

Jenn Jilks said...

Oh, my. You made me laugh! Even in my retirement!
It's a spider eat... whatever, world.
Cheers from Cottage Country !

Grizz………… said...

Jenn…

Hey, retired people ought to be laughing more than anyone—after all, they beat the system and lived to tell about it!

I trust you're getting settled in comfortably.