But it's been raining lately and I came home tonight to find one waiting right on the back door. With immense reluctance and no small amount of shivery aversion, I reached down and picked up the shell-less snail.
And that's when I realized it--I've never touched a slug before. Any time I've ever had to move one, I've always shoved it aside with a stick or a leaf. What a sheltered and fearful life I've led.
It's ridiculous. I like to think of myself as a wacky free spirit and yet there's a host of things I avoid due to fear of the unknown. So, reminding myself that I've held both a python and a tarantula, I placed the squirmy slimer in my hand. It felt like a slimy noodle.
And I wondered what it will take for me to be as bold and adventuresome as I'd like to be. That's essentially what this project has been about: to push past the boundaries of my life.
That said, ever practical, I decided to hold off licking the slug. Because that's another New Thing.
Stay tuned.
5 comments:
Clearly you were a child in NJ not OR. I think I had licked half a dozen slugs before my 10th birthday. It is a very weird feeling - sort of like a shot of Novocain on your tongue. I'm not sure if all slugs have the same chemical compound though. I've only licked banana slugs.
Don't eat it though. The numbing is from the poison secreted by the slug.
baby steps
Work your way up to licking the slug. ewwww.....
And there you have it: "Licking the Slug" - the name of your new book, should you ever put your year of new things into book form. Maybe it'll catch on as the common idiom for doing new things, like "jumping the shark" is for desperate attempts to boost TV ratings.
"Licking the Slug" – Isn’t that the name of the new 50 Cent album?
I’ve never done it either…hadn’t even occurred to me! I have stepped on one barefoot though (accidentally). That’s enough “ew factor” for me!
I'm completely freaked out that you might lick a slug - holy sh*t! I stepped on one in my bare feet in 8th grade in Westfield...and that was ENOUGH for me. Please, I beg of you - do NOT lick this, or any, slug. That's not a "new thing" - it's simply not right. What if it numbs you forever and you can't talk or sing? That'd would be terrible. What if you got the poison in your mouth, which went into your bloodstream and you couldn't think - or write more about Edward Zanni??? Please, I implore you - do NOT lick a slug. I might have to stop reading this blog. Die your hair, drive fork lifts, jump from roof to roof, canoe in a gourd, write a sonnet - but DO NOT LICK A SLUG.
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