Memories

Tweet

Back in the Olden Days, when I was about 10 years old living with my Grandmother, I had the scare of my young life that has stayed with me for 60 years. My Grandmother's house was old but in good shape...it had a dirt basement that you could walk through standing up. It was damp most of the time. Thus there were Waterbugs as big as a Palmetto Bug living in the basement. Sometimes when there hadn't been any rain in a while, those Waterbugs would come up into the kitchen looking for water at night. I learned to reach around from the door and turn on the light before I went in the kitchen. My grandmother rented out rooms upstairs. There were 3 bedrooms, A general traffic area, a bathroom, and kitchen. When no one was renting a room, And it was hot, she would put up twin beds in the General Area upstairs where she would open all the windows, and use a fan...No AC back then. One night we were sleeping there, and something woke me up. I felt something on me, and I caught one of those Waterbugs in my hand..Slung it Screaming. Mema turned on the light..I pulled the covers back, and there was another one in my bed. I went and got bug spray and sprayed all the legs, headboard, footboard..etc. Never had another problem. But even typing this I could feel that bug in my hand, and felt Creepy Crawly. That is how I feel anytime I see a palmetto bug down here in FL. If there isn't any other way of killing one...I will stomp on the Palmetto bug IF I have shoes on, but not with my house slippers. LOL I keep a fly swatter where I can find it quickly IF I see one. They sure are sneaky little boogers. I remember one night at my Mema's house, my friend was spending the night and we snuck down to the kitchen..she was ahead of me, and before I could say anything she was IN the kitchen...I reached in and turned on the light. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, and there were like 4 of those waterbugs scattering around her trying to hide, and she was standing there Screaming and stomping her feet...couldn't help but laugh...and even with all the screaming my Mema never woke up. LOL I still talk to her atleast once a week now, and remind her ever so often of that night. LOL