Slug History

    I want my vast readership of six faithful blog followers to know that I do not spend all my time thinking about slugs.

    In fact, this morning I wrote out a heartfelt prayer that made no mention of them.  The “Help!” and “Thank You!” in that prayer had nothing to do with the slimy creatures.

    However, in the interest of getting all my slugs in a row, I do wish to share some slug history with you, presented here in no particular order.

1. When he was a teenager, my son-in-law put a slug in his mouth for one minute to win a one-dollar bet.  He said it wasn’t as gross as he had anticipated.

2. There may be a person or two in Austin, Texas who witnessed my friend Sally bursting into hysterical laughter as she spotted a jug of slug bait at a Home Depot last night.  For her outburst I will claim some responsibility.

3. Barb’s fourth grade (or is it fifth grade?) class in the Detroit area enjoys my slug stories—the grosser the better.

4. The most sure-fire way to encounter a slug is on the sole of your shoe while you are looking up at the glorious evergreens and blue sky and puffy white clouds instead of looking down at your feet.

5. I personally witnessed a slug suicide in the sink stopper two summers ago.

6. Singlehandedly, I performed a slug rescue from the bathroom of a house on a busy street in Greensboro, North Carolina in September 2009.

7. My mother is not afraid of slugs, even the tiny one that hid in the cabbage and ended its life in the sink stopper.

8. Carolyn seems to be a little concerned that I count slugs. 

9. I am not obsessed with slugs.

10. Because good lists rarely end with nine items, let me reiterate that I am not obsessed with slugs even though they provide excellent writing fodder.