What's on Your Mind

[Karl Rand]

A few decades ago I was pruning a very prickly shrub and thought one of the thorns had stuck into me.
Not long after my elbow became swollen and very painful. A local GP prescribed an antibiotic and sent me home.
Not long after my breathing became laboured, my pulse became irregular and I felt very sick. Phoned an ambulance and ended up in intensive care where my heart kept missing beats. Diagnosed as a Red Back spider bite I was given the antidote, in itself a nasty experience.
Prior to this little drama finding a spider in the house I’d carefully put them in a jar and release them outside. Now I kill them on sight. I also kill scorpions and tiger snakes if they’re in or anywhere near my house. A tiger snake once chased me across a manicured lawn in suburban Melbourne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_snake

You know, I used to want to visit Australia

We have the largest number of extremely venomous snakes, spiders, jellyfish, octupuses ( or is that ‘octopi’?) and murderous sharks of any nation on the planet so if you’re apprehensive stay away. On the other hand I’ve been here for 75 years, lived on the seaside and in the country and I’m still alive. (just)