This may seem like a strange title for a blog post, but a connection can be found here. Both tarantulas and people who have been deported play important roles in Haitian culture, and both of them seem to surprise you, showing up when you would least expect it.
We have had a lot more tarantulas than usual around our property in the last couple of months. Richard got a kick out of it when he was here. He likes to hold them and take pictures, even if they aren't all the way dead yet. We found one hiding behind our propane tank in the kitchen one day, a mostly-grown adult who somehow found a way into our house. I guess he was strong enough to push the screen door open a bit and sneak inside when no one was looking. He experienced the wrath of the broom handle. Then a baby one was crawling on Alexandra one day while she was in bed. When we said, “A little spider is on you,” she jumped out of bed in a flash.
There have been several others in the yard and tons out on the paths in the mountains. One evening after youth group a big fellow was running across the yard with Emmanuel in hot pursuit. He got to a cement step and stopped. This step is 8 inches high, but he was able to stand on a couple of legs and reach a couple of other legs over the edge and begin to pull himself up. That means his span was around 10 inches or so. That is a big spider. Soon he felt the bottom of Emmanuel's flip-flop mercilessly squeezing his life away.
Another fascinating story about tarantulas...Richard and I (Cory) were hiking through the mountains, and as we passed by the village of Jabouim we saw a little tarantula walking happily along the path. He was about 1 inch across or a little bigger. As we were watching intently, suddenly a huge insect flew in, something like a giant mosquito, and attacked the spider. Soon they were engaged in chemical warfare, each one stinging and striking and injecting poisons for all they were worth. The mosquito-like thingy won easily! It was pretty amazing to watch. It made me wish I had a camera for filming this strange event in nature. Tarantulas look so gross and intimidating, but they are virtually blind, very slow, and easy to kill.
Like tarantulas, the people who get deported back to Haiti for whatever reason usually appear more threatening than they actually are. Recently a man named Patrick, probably age 28 or 30, was sent back here from Canada. He has many extended family members in this area, and they seem to be taking care of him for now. He is a big talker and seems to be drunk all the time, and something about him makes me kind of nervous. He is totally fluent in English, and the way he talks to me makes it seem like he would love for me to say something that would justify him (in his eyes) to try enticing me to argue or fight.
Antoine has begun taking Patrick under his wing. Antoine was deported years ago and has managed to give his life to God and make the most of his situation, even marrying a local girl and starting a family. Antoine told me, “Patrick is in that middle place, where he could either ruin his whole life or even kill himself, or he could begin to walk on the straight and narrow and have a real life.” Antoine is probably the perfect person to try to help him, because he has been in the same shoes, so I'm praying that it works out. In the meantime I will probably avoid Patrick unless God says to do otherwise. He just has a little too much hatred towards all white people right now. He is probably harmless, but there are some fangs to contend with if you get too close.
Tarantulas and deportees. Both of them unpredictable, but both provide the potential for interesting adventures.
May Your Adventure Include Interesting Characters Today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
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