Hey Everybody, Meet Newman!

He looked into my eyes, and I looked into his……eight eyes. He looked at my two skinny white legs and I looked at his…..eight strong hairy legs. He looked at my teeth designed mostly for chewing plant food, and I looked into his…..fangs designed to rip insect flesh.

Right now I am only here because my wife has forced me to drive to this pet store in order to hold a tarantula. Only one question goes through my mind….where did I go wrong in choosing a wife.

Holding a tarantula was a goal I set for myself in the I Ho Chuan after my oldest son (who loves all insects and spiders) held a very large tarantula with no fear whatsoever. This was no doubt going to be one of the greatest challenges I had ever faced.

I am Arachnophobic. Size certainly matters, but even very small ones REALLY bother me, especially if they are quick. No matter how many times I have told myself that the fear is irrational and unhealthy, I could not overcome this. I have gotten light headed and nearly passed out from seeing them in the hands of pet store attendants in the past.

So on with my exposure therapy, which is the most common way of treating such phobias. Now the key to exposure therapy is to ensure the experience is not negative. So when asking about the small toonie sized one clinging to the back of his cage and getting the response, “That one might not be a good one for handling” made me very anxious.

The pet store “handler”, (I call them that because they are as brave as those that tame lions and tigers) pulled the container down to the floor and off came the lid. There had already grown a crowd around the isle to see all the commotion. At the site of the rose hair tarantula the 6.5 foot mountain of a man beside me let out a shutter and a“whooah!” which probably didn’t impress his girlfriend much, and certainly didn’t impress me.

I backed away, all the mental preparation up this point got flushed down the toilet and I responded saying “I don’t think I can do this” and was ready to move along. Stephanie, in all her support told me she would do it first, and sure enough, she did.

Well, pull out the focus again, and lay down your hand Vince. I asked if it could bite, and she said, “it probably won’t” which really was not a confidence booster. The creature crawled on to my hand, probably wondering why the ground suddenly got so wet and clammy. I could not believe how gentle this animal was. He strolled half way up my arm with a very thin string of silk coming from his abdomen.

And that was that! One of the toughest things I have done wrapped up in a short 30 seconds. I now have a new friend, he has eight legs, eight eyes, soft furry legs, and I have named him.....Newman.

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