"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
...
Either that or what attacked him were not walking sticks.
I have a close friend that was attacked as a child by a swarm of locusts.
She had bites all over her. She's been terrified of large grasshoppers
all of her life since that incident.

I've seen some pretty big grasshoppers.

Your dad also could have been telling a tall tale. ;-)
No offense meant.


None taken. As I said though, I do remember seeing it - I was 15 or so at
the time. I was out in the driveway with him. He was trying to "sweep" the
critter off the driveway with the shovel (that was the tool he had been
using, he had no intention of harming with it) and the thing kept coming at
him. And it looked like a walking stick, not a locust or grasshopper.

My mom was there too, she was a bit freaked out! She remembers it, but I
definitely think her version gets a bit "colored" with her high anxiety at
the time.

I should send an email to A&M and ask them if it's possible from the sticks
to get aggressive when disturbed when nesting. My main concern in asking
this is my daughter, my neighbor's dogs (miniature greyhounds - love to get
into the garden), and gardening with my bare hands and while barefoot. But
it's not a big worry.

I've played with many a walking stick as I find them to be rather
fascinating. So far, no harm, no foul.
--

You're much braver than me! But I have maintained a healthy curious respect
for them. It's funny, my Bachelor's from A&M is in Wildlife Biology -
aquatic biology and herpetology. I've handled more snakes and lizards and
frogs and traditionally "creepy" things without batting an eye - I find them
fascinating. But I couldn't bring myself to study insects, and definitely
can't touch them. Aren't phobias weird?

But they get to live in my home too, and I hope they stay happy. It's nice
to see critters that the fire ants haven't driven out or eaten.

Julie