Photo by L.G. Patterson

The Assignment: Cutest pets

The Location: ICM Studio

Many years ago, my sister and I drove to Lubbock, Texas to visit our brother who just had his first kid. While my sister slept, I took the first leg of the driving and drove until we hit the state of Texas. Then I crawled in the back seat to fall asleep.

About an hour later, I woke up to my sister screaming something about spiders. I peered out the windshield and saw the road covered with tarantulas. They would scurry off the road as our car approached. It was quite a sight.

I soon fell back to sleep thinking we would be fine unless we stopped. A few hours later, my sister was screaming again because she was hopelessly lost. She had been watching the spiders very intently and missed the Lubbock exit. We were getting close to Mexico, so a detour was in order.

Sabrina, the caretaker of Fiona, the tarantula that won Cutest Pet, had a similar spider experience in the New Mexico desert. She actually picked Fiona up, put her in a shoe box and took her home.

I realized that I missed a great opportunity those many years ago to scare the crap out of my sister. I guess my fear of spiders at the time of that road trip probably strengthened my family relationship.

I am starting to get over my arachnophobia. I actually held Fiona during our photoshoot.

I am not a spider person.