the world of ??whys??


The world is rife with "why's," most of them simply too large and overwhelming to contain easy answers, if any at all - why is there suffering in this world? why do bad things happen to good people (and vice versa)? why is the sky blue (okay, there's probably some scientific explanation for that one, but a scientist I am not, so that one falls into bigger hands/minds than my own).
But everyday, we all encounter a myriad of little "why's," the kind we are certain have answers or could be satisfactorily redressed. These are the ones that really stick in your craw, because deep down you sense that : 1) it's simply Murphy's Law inserting its frustrating self into the minutiae of your daily life; or 2) the matter simply wouldn't exist, if only the rest of the world possessed your obviously elevated level of common sense.
So, all that being said, this column is dedicated to just those very "why's" - maybe not earth-shattering, nor of global relevance, but clearly impacting as we go about our own daily lives - the little glitches for all us cogs that are simply part of the bigger picture. These little things comprise our own personal bigger pictures, and I am convinced are at the heart of bigger issues - road rage, general rudeness, random acts of kindness, etc., etc. And in that reciprocal sense, maybe they are bigger than they seem, more than just pet peeves or petty annoyances.
So to get the thread rolling, I've come up with a few of my own choice "why's" - feel free to add your own, and if you have answers or at least a darn good or amusing theory, I'd love to hear it.

Monday, September 10, 2007

"Why do the things you fear always find you?"

Spiders...I realize they have their own little place in the whole grand scheme of things. I can even intellectually appreciate that they rid my world of pesky little intruders, like flies and mites.
But, I am, despite all that, phobically afraid of spiders.
When I was young, I would spot one (did you ever notice how you can be completely oblivious to about a million things all around you, but take that one thing that scares you, and a good 90% of the time, your eye will naturally dart straight to the very spot in which it resides?). It would be in some remote corner of my room late at night as I dutifully toddled off to bed. "Okay," I'd tell myself, "It's not too big, and it's all the way over THERE."
Inevitably, after a few minutes, I would glance back up, (cos,' you know, you just gotta check), and here it would come, as though there were tiny signs visible only in anachrid script pointing my way -- "this way to freaking out something a billion times your size - ha ha ha!"
So, of course, this is the point at which I would have to enlist the aid of Dad, particularly if it was venturing dangerously close to my bed, from which point it could drop down, and not only BE ON ME, but potentially crawl up my nose (as I saw one do to a friend's little brother one night while at a sleep-over - no lie!).
Of course now, being all grown up and on my own, I am left to my own defenses. Dad is hundreds of miles away, and that spider will be so far up my nose by the time he arrives, my brain will be positively brewing with arachnid colonies!
I've tried holding my cat up to the wall, hoping he'd go after the 8-legged beast for me (cats like to bat at things that move, right?) - but he apparently has no interest in spiders...could be a whole fleet of them traipsing by, and he'd simply turn and walk away. Clearly, he has no time for moving objects he doesn't want to eat, which in this case, I can't say I blame him.
So, I'm on my own. Just me and a good heavy boot, and preferably a long-handled broom with which I can first strike it down to within smashing distance.
Still, it all makes me wonder, HOW DO THEY KNOW?
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