Centipede II

Tonight, I had yet another centipede encounter.

Except this one was a tad bit different than the one in Hawaii. This one, I could handle.

Michelle and I spent All Hallow's Eve watching "Most Haunted Live," an English TV show dedicated to revealing haunted sites across England. Tonight's episode was, well, rather freaky (fitting for Halloween). After three hours spent huddled together on the couch, in complete darkness, we decided we had had enough.

We turned on all the lights as we moved from room to room together, making sure no ghosts, ghouls, or spirits could harm us the way they had the folks on the TV show. After brushing our teeth, Michelle remembered her laundry. In the basement.

Together, we crept through the kitchen, turning on every light switch along the way. We made it safely to the stairs leading to the basement, turned on the basement light, and slowly moved down each step. Once in the basement, all was good. Until I spotted the creepy-crawly on the floor.

Michelle screeched. But I, being the experienced Hawaiian centipede wrangler, bravely stepped up to the challenge.

Michelle, being the ever-helpful one she is, handed me a dryer sheet to scrunch the poor little fella.

I, on the other hand, grabbed the paint scraper, bent over, and sliced the skinny little devil in half. Oh, yes, it still wriggled. But in no way did it even begin to compare to the centipede of the summer of 2005. This one was barely visible to the naked eye.

After the sucker was in two, I asked my lovely assistant for the dryer sheet. She handed it to me (still crouched in the corner far from the creepy crawly), and I scooped it up and proudly tossed the Minnesota centipede in the garbage can.

This centipede encounter I could handle.

After spending a night watching real-life supernatural, mind-numbing experiences, the thought of the Hawaiian centipede still freaks me out more. Oh yes, yes it does.

Good night, and Happy Halloween.