the hitchhiker

Ever since my move to Bermuda, I am acutely aware & alert of any tingly sensation on my skin. It's because of the bugs you see. While I may be an animal lover, I prefer not to have bugs crawling over me. I definitely don't like ant bites, so woe to any ant that finds itself on me. Death is instantaneous & imminent. I show no mercy! Driving with the window rolled down, leaves much room for bugs to get inside your car. Mostly this is a cause for concern after the sun goes down. So roll up those windows while driving at night. The roaches do fly over here! When driving or riding along on a scooter, helmets with visors are a good, sensible, practical investment. Don't skimp out on those visors. Trust!

But only in Bermuda can this happen driving with the windows down, during the day & only to ME! Driving down South Shore Road yesterday with my right hand on the wheel, I felt something tingling on my arm. I expected it to be something small - a normal run of the mill bug. Boy, did I freak out when I looked down, for it was nothing small. IT was a bloody lizard. That's right! A lizard! It was probably on the car before I drove off, decided the wind was a bit to much on the top & so decided to park it self on my arm, mission impossible style. Arrgh! I was not prepared to have a lizard on my arm! Beetle, maybe. Ladybug, sure. But not a lizard! I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy letting out a yelp & shaking my arm out the window. Oncoming drivers must have thought I was exercising a new way of saying hello sans toots. (Bear in mind, I had to perform this ejection within a matter of nano seconds). I hope that lizard landed on something safe & didn't end up being road kill. In all my years living in Bombay & having lizards be a part of our home, I have never not once have had them land on me. Not even while I was asleep!

I did not quite get the reaction I was hoping for from Hubby when I informed him of my surprise hitchhiker. Such was his response:"Oh, you should have kept it, they're so cute." Umm where? The one thing I was trying to do was keep the wheel steady & keep the car in my own lane, all the while getting rid of the critter before it wiggled down my arm onto somewhere in the car. Can you imagine the pandemonium? We all know how terribly difficult lizards are to catch. And their tails break off if you do manage to get one by its tail. And I've heard their bites while not poisonous are definitely not without pain. So, yes pandemonium would be the right word. Sure, Hubby thinks I should have kept it BUT boy would I give a million bucks what his reaction would be if the lizard had to land on his arm, while he's driving. What would YOU do? Has anyone had this happen to them?

At the end of the day all I have to say is: WHY ME ?